Mercedes F1 Eyes 2026 Glory with New Power Unit

Mercedes F1 exudes confidence for 2026, drawing parallels to their 2014 dominance. Could this lure Verstappen and Newey?

Mercedes F1 has already expressed confidence in the media about their power unit planned for the 2026 regulations.

Technical director James Allison revealed that “the feeling is quite similar” to 2014 within the team as preparations continue for the next major rule overhaul.

The last major change in the sport in 2014 led to an era of unprecedented success for Mercedes. With less than two years until the next significant regulatory revision, which will see a substantial increase in the electric power produced by the existing hybrid V6 engines, the German team appears very optimistic.

Could this potentially attract Max Verstappen to the team?

“I don’t know!” Allison replies with a smile.

“I wasn’t with the team approaching 2014 when the new generation of power units was being developed and the huge effort to make it a reality was underway. I was at Ferrari at the time.”

“But those within the team who were there tell me the feeling is very similar.”

“There is a huge effort underway at HPP [Mercedes High Performance Powertrains] to succeed, as this will set the course for everyone (McLaren and Williams) lucky enough to have our engine in the back of their car for the coming seasons.”

“We are fortunate to benefit from all the good investments they are making on our common behalf.”

Toto Wolff: 2026 Project on Track and Ready to Shine

Toto Wolff aims to convey confidence in the 2026 project, ensuring it is on the right track.

“We have a power unit department that is as efficient as possible, with top-tier leadership.”

“There isn’t a single area at HPP that I wish to change in terms of organizational structure or the people working there. It’s just a perfect organization.”

“They have delivered on their promises and have been doing so for a long time. Since 2014, we have been the benchmark, or maybe alongside another engine. But we remain the benchmark; that hasn’t changed.”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing the different performance levels of the power units in 2026.”

Wolff also responded to Christian Horner’s claim that Red Bull had hired over 220 engineers from Mercedes HPP.

“He needs to work on his math. 19 engine engineers. And, you know, whatever those numbers are, I think there is a natural fluctuation between teams that come and go, which is completely normal. But 220, I don’t know what he’s counting…”

Is this also a way to potentially attract Adrian Newey to Mercedes F1? Wolff has approached the English designer, who is reportedly more interested in the Ferrari challenge.

James Allison wouldn’t oppose such a collaboration.

“It’s a fairly hypothetical question, but I see no reason why it couldn’t work with us.”

“We’d need to be reasonably clear about who does what, but I think any team considering Adrian on the market as someone to recruit asks the same question: how to bring in a guy like him and make the most of it.”