Toto Wolff is concerned that Formula 1’s new 2026 engine development rules could disrupt the sport’s competitive order, and has urged the FIA to prevent this.
The Mercedes team principal’s concerns come as the championship leaders continue to set the pace, having won the opening three races of the season.
Their self-manufactured power unit has emerged as the benchmark, giving Mercedes a clear advantage heading into the Miami Grand Prix.
At the centre of the debate is a new performance-balancing mechanism introduced under the 2026 power unit regulations.
The system allows manufacturers who fall behind the leading internal combustion engine by at least two percent to gain Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) during the season.
These opportunities are split across three designated periods, enabling struggling suppliers to make targeted improvements and close the performance gap.
While the initiative is designed to maintain long-term competitiveness, Wolff has warned that its implementation must be handled carefully.
The FIA is expected to clarify how the ADUO framework will operate before the Miami weekend, with rival manufacturers potentially in line for extra development chances as they attempt to match Mercedes’ early-season dominance.
“The principle of the ADUO was to allow teams that were on the back foot in terms of the power unit to catch up, but not to leapfrog,” Wolff said.
“It needs to be very clear that whatever decisions are being made, whichever team is granted ADUO, that any such decision may have a big impact on the performance picture and on the championship, if not done with absolute precision and clarity and transparency.
“It needs to be clear that gamesmanship hasn’t got any place here, but it needs to be with the right spirit here that the FIA acts upon an ADUO.”
He added: “The teams will have their performance pictures and, as it seems for me, there’s one engine manufacturer that has a problem and we need to help. And then all the others are pretty much in the same ballpark.
“So, I would be very surprised, actually, and disappointed if ADUO decisions that were done would come up with any interferences into the competitive pecking order as it stands at the moment.”
