Apparently there was a dispute over engines
Formula 1 trouble at the start of the season?
12/22/2025 – 5:28 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
There are extensive rule changes in Formula 1 for the new season. The engines are also affected. There is now apparently a threat of a serious dispute there.
Formula 1 is apparently threatened with a major dispute at the start of the new season. As the “Motorsport Magazine” reports, engine manufacturers have been arguing for some time about the rules for the new engines.
Formula 1 is comprehensively revising the rules for the coming season. The engines are also affected. According to the report, the manufacturers’ dispute is sparked by the compression ratio of the new engines. The compression ratio describes the ratio of space in the engine’s cylinders before compression to after compression.
For the new season, the compression ratio in the “top class of motorsport” was reduced from 18:1 to 16:1. However, Mercedes – and possibly also Red Bull – are said to have found a trick in which the compression ratio increases again to 18:1 when the engine is running.
The compression ratio is crucial, as the teams will be allowed to burn significantly less fuel per race in the coming season. The cars have to get as much power as possible from the given amount of gasoline. The compression ratio helps with this. Opponents of the trick fear that it could produce around 15 hp more, which could add around three tenths of a second to lap time. It would be a huge advantage.
According to the report, it is not known exactly how the trick works. But it’s probably about expansion of certain components at high temperatures.
According to “Motorsport Magazine”, the critics refer to Article C 1.5 of the technical regulations. Accordingly, the cars must “fully comply at all times during a competition” with the rules, including those regarding the compression ratio. This means that increasing the compression ratio when operating at high temperatures would be illegal.
The problem, however, is that the relevant tests carried out by the regulatory authority FIA do not take place at high temperatures. This emerges from a statement from the FIA in “Motorsport Magazin”. It states: “Thermal expansion can affect dimensions at operating temperature, but current regulations do not require measurement in hot conditions.”
But it doesn’t have to stay that way: “The FIA continually reviews such matters to ensure fairness and clarity. Adjustments to the regulations or measurement procedures may be considered for the future,” the statement continues.
Spicy: Whatever the FIA decides in the end, it will likely mean problems for the teams. Because changing the engine is hardly possible in the short term. If the affected teams get away with their trick, it would be difficult for the competition to follow suit. If they don’t get away with it, it would be difficult for them to dismantle the engine themselves.