Toto Wolff fears Mercedes will be 'screwed' as crunch F1 vote looms

Toto Wolff has explained how Mercedes will be "screwed" ahead of a crunch F1 vote around its alleged compression ratio engine trick. 

Over the last few days, there has been movement from F1's power unit manufacturers towards potentially changing the way in which the compression ratio of the engines is measured, from ambient temperatures to doing so whilst hot. 

As the current rules are written, a car must have its engine compression ratio at 16:1 when measured, but in theory, it could exceed this whilst out on track, when it is not measured through the use of heat-expanding metals.

The Power Unit Advisory Committee (PUAC) is formed of the five manufacturers, Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, Honda, and Audi, as well as the FIA and Formula One Management (FOM) as regulator and commercial rights holder, respectively.

To force through a potential change to measure the compression ratio whilst the engine is hot, a supermajority is required, which would be four of the five PUMs, the regulator and the CRH. 

Red Bull Powertrains is believed to have switched sides to argue for the new tests, which means, given the other three are in alignment, the key votes are the FIA and FOM, both of which have not publicly declared their stance.

If both vote for the change, Mercedes HPP's engine trick will be found and the power units potentially found in breach of the technical regulations, with the engines across the field required to be homologated for the 2026 season by Sunday, March 1st.

Detailing the situation, Wolff has admitted that Mercedes will be "screwed" if the vote succeeds, despite prior support from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. 

"I think everybody was a little bit too excited about the performance of the Mercedes-powered teams, and I think our colleagues from the other brands have gotten carried away to the point where it could be embarrassing, which I don't believe at all," Wolff told media, including RacingNews365.

"Let's see how the tests pan out, and then god knows what the next black swan is going to happen. 

"It is not only the teams, but you also need the votes from the governing body and the commercial rights holder, and if they decide to share an opinion and an agenda, then you are screwed.

"All along [in the design process], we had the support of Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and from his perspective, it was clear what the regulation said and that the regulations were applied in the right way. 

"He is the president of the FIA; he has all the power in his hands to be part of the decision-making process, and at the end of the day, it is his call."