It has not been the simplest start to the year for Mercedes.
News at the back end of last-year seemed to prop up the fact that the German team was the front-runner for 2026, with the shift in regulations seeming to benefit the Brackley-based squad.
Mercedes finished second in the Constructors’ Championship in 2025, but Red Bull’s second driver conundrum hindered the Austrian team in terms of proper representation in the team standings.
After the recent news that teams were examining whether Mercedes and Red Bull had broken any rules with their 2026 cars – and Toto Wolff swiftly responded – it seems like a further development could add even more instability to Mercedes in the near future.
Red Bull turn on Mercedes in surprising twist
A recent report from The Race seems to confirm that it is Mercedes backed up against a wall now, as news has emerged that Red Bull has been swayed in terms of their stance on F1’s compression ratio limit.
Both Mercedes and Red Bull have been highlighted for allegedly breaking the 16:1 ratio, which means that the duo could potentially get more power out of the car at higher speeds, something they have apparently been able to do thanks to the FIA’s testing only being in place when the car is stationary and the engine is cool.
Ferrari, Audi and Honda have written an open letter to the FIA in the past week, and according to reports, it now seems as if Red Bull is on board with enforcing a rule change that can close the compression ratio loophole.