Wolff: 'Not going to suddenly change rules if Alpine doesn't perform'

Alpine claims to be 30bhp behind the other engine suppliers and therefore wants permission for a performance boost from the engine. Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur previously doubted whether the size of that deficit was correct. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff agrees with his fellow team boss and does not want to suddenly start changing the rules.

Engine development in F1 frozen

From 2022, engine performance development hasn't been allowed, and development is frozen. However, teams are still allowed to tinker with the reliability of their engines, but this ultimately also has to do with performance: the more reliable the engine is, the more aggressively the engine can be tuned. A more aggressive engine setting still yields more performance.

Wolff won't help Alpine

There is a rule though, that should an engine supplier be far behind, they can still develop a bit. "How we designed the regulations was that for 2026 if one of the constructors would fall outside of 3% to the best power unit, we would allow them to have more dyno time [time to test the engine] and we would act in best case and find regulations," Wolff explained to media including GPblog.

"We don't see anything close to 3%., that's number one. And number two, we cannot make up regulations on the fly just because somebody doesn't perform. I think with those 3%, we are in a good place and certainly not fiddle with the 'Balance of Performan' and give them more fuel flow or any of these things. Work yourself out and the same would be for us. I might be biting my tongue in three years. Work yourself out. You are getting more dyno time and then sort it out."