Mercedes engine case, Tombazis: “The priority is to avoid controversies, we don’t want to go to court after the first race”

What the FIA ​​technical manager said The 2026 World Championship, at least off the track, has already begun amidst controversy. And in fact, the issue linked to the Mercedes engines and the compression ratio of the thermal V6 is at the forefront. According to rumours, the power unit built in Brackley would be able to increase the compression ratio ‘when hot’ (18:1) and then return to 16:1 when cold as required by the regulations. On paper, this feature could guarantee Mercedes and its customers (McLaren, Williams and Alpine) 15 more horsepower. Mattia Binotto on the occasion of Audi’s presentation commented on a thorny situation like this: “If it’s true, it’s certainly a significant advantage in terms of performance and lap time. And this would make the difference when it comes to competition on the track. But it’s not up to me to prove it or know it, everything is in the hands of the FIA.” A meeting is scheduled today between the FIA ​​and the motorists, an event that had already been scheduled, but which will certainly be an opportunity for discussion between the Federation and the manufacturers. The technical manager Nick Tombazis, reached by the Reuters news agency on the occasion of the Autosport Business Exchange event, expressed himself as follows on this topic: “Competition leads us to consider only our own beliefs as valid without paying attention to the arguments of others, everyone believes that their point of view is the only truth, but unfortunately things are never that simple and this is where we come in to clarify these aspects. However, I don’t believe that it is such an important topic unlike how it is treated at a media level. The meeting it’s not a showdown, we’ll discuss some of the technical merits of the matter and I think we’ll be fine. It’s a top priority to make sure there are no disputes, because we want to race and not sit in court after the first race.”