Audi addresses growing F1 trick row ahead of crunch FIA meeting

Audi chief technical officer Mattia Binotto has shared his "hope" for a crunch FIA meeting with power unit manufacturers after the alleged Mercedes engine trick. 

During the winter, it was reported that Mercedes High Performance Powertrians had developed a trick to allow it to run a higher compression ratio - 18:1 - than the regulations allow when the car is out on track.

Current testing of the compession ratio, set at 16:1 for the 2026 rules, is carried out by the FIA at ambient temperatures when the car is in the pit-lane, with no test currently existing for the measuring of the ratio when the car is on-track.

In theory, this means that when the car is running, it could produce a compression ratio, effectively an increase in power, higher than the regulations allow, but when measured, appear legal and in conformity with the rules.

It is believed the Mercedes HPP trick could be worth as much as 0.3s per lap around the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, equating to a 17.4s advantage over the course of the 58 lap distance.

A meeting is planned for Thursday, January 22nd between the power unit manufacturers and the FIA, with Audi entering F1 as a power unit manufacturer for the first time in 2026, as former Ferrari boss and current chief technical and chief operating officer Binotto addressed the trick for the first time at the team's glitzy R26 launch in Berlin.

"I don't think there will be clarity or compromise, so the meeting is more together with the FIA discussing how we can improve or develop a methodology for the future to measure the compression ratio in operating conditions," Binotto told select media in Berlin, including RacingNews365.

"Because we know today we are doing it in poor conditions, with engines disassembled, so you may wait until the end of the season to know if you were compliant. 

"We are trying, altogether, to develop a methodology where you can measure it in real time, while the car is running.

"So my hope is that the meeting is not on clarity of the regulation itself, but more to define a methodology for the future.

"I think it is the fight in Formula 1, it is part of the job, so it would not be normal if we are not fighting each other.

"I don't know whether it is true or not; there are only rumours at the moment that Mercedes may have designed an engine such that the compression ratio can be higher in certain conditions, but that is not for me to prove.

"At the end, it is down to the FIA, so regulations are important, enforcing regulations is important, and we can only trust the FIA. 

"If it is real, it [will] certainly [create] a significant gap in terms of performance and lap time, and that would certainly make a difference when we come to competition on track."