With Formula 1 on its midseason summer break, teams are providing evaluations and explanations. It is an annual ritual before everyone heads off for vacation, and 2026 has been no different. While Mercedes finds itself riding high once again, team principal Toto Wolff sees rivals close enough to pounce and even trigger contested FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) measurements.
Wolff gave his explanation as to why the FIA deemed Red Bull’s power unit to be the strongest on the grid when determining which manufacturers could receive extra development leeway under ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities)—a system introduced this year to allow lagging engine manufacturers to catch up. How was it that Mercedes wasn’t classified as the benchmark and thus barred from further development scope?
“The FIA says that, at least on the combustion engine side, the Red Bull power unit is the best. That’s how the measurement is conducted. Perhaps overall, it’s ours,” he commented in an interview with Dutch outlet RacingNews365.
Furthermore, he highlighted a specific rival that he believes benefited heavily from the possibilities offered by ADUO. “Ferrari is always whining that theirs isn’t the strongest engine, but I think they have an absolutely competitive power unit in a car designed for high downforce, featuring winglets that cover half the exhaust. They are on the exact same level,” he concluded.
Wolff dismissed, however, the possibility of the kind of crushing dominance the team enjoyed during the early years of the V6 turbo-hybrid era over a decade ago.
“What made us so dominant at the start of the hybrid era in 2014 was that our power unit was dominant for a very long time. Today, Ferrari is extremely close to us,” he stated.
“If we drop the ball with a setup mistake or an upgrade that fails to arrive while theirs lands, you can easily get caught on the back foot. I don’t believe we will see that kind of dominance in Formula 1 ever again,” he continued.
Formula 1 is currently on summer break. The series resumes 2026 season action from August 21 to 23 with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.
