Possible ban on Mercedes and Red Bull engines

[Dare]

That would tighten the field up......not in the good way

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/fia-drops-hint-over-possible-mercedes-and-red-bull-engine-ban/ar-AA1UB5En?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=697023398f7140d39c2b8b9d5772eeb7&ei=32

[Jericoke]

We all know that F1 is very much a 'letter of the rules' rather than a 'spirit of the rules' competition.

FIA let Brawn run because there was the real possibility of the sport collapsing entirely without enough entrants.  If the FIA pulls the plug on the Mercedes and RBPT engines, legal or not, what's going to happen?  Honda, Audi and Ferrari won't suddenly be able to supply 10 more cars, will they?  And even if they could, I don't believe that you can just swap engine units into a modern F1 car.  (I do believe the formula should be described so that each engine bay is identical, to allow swapped engines... would give the FIA more room for suppliers to come and go)

Would there be a compromise, like when Toro Rosso was allowed to run rev limited V10s in the V8 era?

[lkjohnson1950]

I really hate when someone legit games the rules and the rules makers change them at the last minute. I lost a lot of respect for NASCAR in 1981. The made a rule on spoiler height believing all the GM teams would be running the new coupe bodies with the vertical rear window. Bobby's team brought last year's body with the sloping window and the better airflow made him miles faster. So, NASCAR made him cut his spoiler to about half size just days before the race. New spoiler didn't work and Bobby didn't get the win he deserved for being smarter than everyone. Same applies here. They made a rule; some teams designed smarter and now they may be penalized for it.

[cosworth151]

NASCAR has always bragged that its rule book is "written in pencil."

[John S]

The possible ban turns out to be a damp squib.

Since it's not a safety matter & no regs or rules appear to be broken Merc plus Red Bull muster enough team votes to squash any revision to rule book this late in the day. All that can be done is agree to find a way to monitor engines at higher temps.

We'll have to wait for any official protest to come forward at first GP, but it's hard to see if any protest can be either accepted, or more to the point proven as long as the engines compression meets the max at ambient temp. 

Seems like Ferrari, Audi & Honda are left expelling more hot air than the engines on this subject. 

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what-has-been-agreed-f1-2026-engine-meeting-compression-ratio/

[Jericoke]

The possible ban turns out to be a damp squib.

Since it's not a safety matter & no regs or rules appear to be broken Merc plus Red Bull muster enough team votes to squash any revision to rule book this late in the day. All that can be done is agree to find a way to monitor engines at higher temps.

We'll have to wait for any official protest to come forward at first GP, but it's hard to see if any protest can be either accepted, or more to the point proven as long as the engines compression meets the max at ambient temp. 

Seems like Ferrari, Audi & Honda are left expelling more hot air than the engines on this subject. 

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what-has-been-agreed-f1-2026-engine-meeting-compression-ratio/

Intrigue is great during the off season, or during a run away championship, but when the season is young, I'm glad we can focus on what happens on track!