Wolff responds to FIA suggestion: 'That ship has sailed'

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has dismissed the possibility of changes being made to the 2026 F1 power unit regulations.

FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis has suggested tweaks could be made if the six engine manufacturers - Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault, Honda, Audi and Red Bull - were in agreement. Tombazis has confirmed any decision could not be made unilaterally.

Tombazis remarked that if there was "a very good spirit of collaboration, [and] if there are some tweaks needed, I'm quite confident the PU manufacturers would help and be collaborative here".

Tombazis' response was to the suggestion one or two of the PU manufacturers may be behind their rivals in terms of development. It has been rumoured that Red Bull Powertrains has encountered difficulties, a claim denied by team principal Christian Horner.

Wolff has made clear, however, that any changes now to the rules that have long been in place would not be countenanced.

"The regulations have been decided on the power unit side, I think that's pretty clear," said Wolff.

"I think there is a governance in place, and if you adhere to the governance that, for me, is the most important."

Wolff joins chorus for chassis rules changes

Wolff added: "On the power unit side, that ship has sailed. There are teams that feel they are on the backfoot, and there other teams, the OEMs, that will feel they have done a good job.

"That's the normal kind of wrestling with the regulations."

With regard to the new chassis regulations, that is a different story. Following their unveiling ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, it quickly became apparent changes need to be made to safeguard the racing.

Drivers and team principals all expressed their concerns that that cars will be too quick in the straights and too slow through the corners. The FIA is open to dialogue to make alterations before the rules are signed off later this year. 

"On the chassis side, the FIA and the teams agree that we need to optimise the regulations because the car's performance is just not good enough at this stage," said Wolff. "Having said that, I'm sure we can achieve that.

"There are tweaks that are possible, that we need to do, but on the engine side, the process is far too advanced."