Engine case: Ferrari takes action on the compression ratio, but for 2027

The compression ratio is causing discussion in F1. The compression ratio of the 2026 power unit is not only causing discussion in the Formula 1 paddock while awaiting a definitive ruling from the FIA, but is starting to create some headaches for those engine engineers who have not yet managed to replicate the solution devised by Mercedes. According to what was reported by Leo Turrini on Quotidiano Nazionale but also on his blog Profondo Rosso, this would be the main headache of the engineers working in the Ferrari engine department under the orders of Enrico Gualtieri: the Maranello team would in fact have reached the conviction that in the end the Federation will declare the complete legality of the Mercedes engine and would therefore be taking action to try to replicate the ploy. The Mercedes case The issue has been known for weeks now, after the German newspaper Motorsport-Magazin reported the indiscretion according to which the Brixworth engineers and, in part, also those at Red Bull-Ford, had found a way to increase the engine compression ratio from the 16:1 prescribed by the regulation to 18:1, taking advantage of the expansion of the materials with heat and the fact that the FIA checks take place with the engine off: essentially, (mainly) Mercedes would be able to gain some power – according to Auto Motor und Sport 15 horsepower, from 5 to 10 for Leo Turrini – by increasing the compression ratio in the combustion chamber with the engine running, while remaining within the parameters imposed by the regulation with the engine off and that is at the moment in which the instruments available to the FIA measure its legality (here is a more precise video explanation, for lovers of the technique). Ferrari “copies” the Mercedes engine solution Returning to Ferrari, for Turrini in the corridors of the Sports Management there would be the belief that the Federation will ultimately not intervene in any way, without therefore imposing more severe parameters in the measurements with the engine off, but also without foreseeing a future “hot” measurement. In this case, the only way to recover the lost horsepower would therefore be to work on the expansion of materials to replicate the Mercedes solution: a path that Enrico Gualtieri is already following, but only for 2027. “It appears to me – explains Turrini on his blog – that in the best possible and imaginable hypotheses this new solution will not be tested on the test bench before the summer of 2026, due to production timing issues. Ergo, if it works on the first try, Ferrari will it will only be on track in 2027”. The Ferrari engine risks starting the season already in hot pursuit…