Wolff Denies Mercedes Dominance in New F1 2026 Era

Toto Wolff has dismissed claims that Mercedes' power unit is far ahead of the competition at the start of Formula 1's new regulatory era in 2026. The team principal insists the advantage is not as big as many believe.

Mercedes has enjoyed a strong first half of the season with eight wins from 11 grands prix. Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers' standings after a meteoric rise in form following a challenging rookie year in 2025. However, in the last five races, Ferrari has won twice and McLaren once, signaling the gap is closing.

Wolff warns that a repeat of the 2014 dominance is unlikely. "What made us so dominant at the beginning of the 2014 hybrid era was that for a long time our power unit was very much dominant. Today you can see that Ferrari is very close to us," he told RacingNews365 in an exclusive interview.

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He added, "If we drop the ball with a setup error or with an upgrade not coming versus them having an upgrade, then you're quickly on the back foot. So I don't think we will see this kind of era of dominance anymore in F1."

The 2026 regulations introduced the ADUO (Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities) system to help manufacturers lagging behind. Interestingly, the first ADUO assessment ranked Red Bull's combustion engine as the strongest.

Wolff acknowledged that Mercedes likely has the best overall package but stressed the advantage is minimal. "The FIA says on the combustion engine, it's Red Bull. That's how they measure. Maybe as an overall package, it's us," he explained.

He also responded to Ferrari's complaints about not having the strongest engine. "Ferrari keeps whinging that they don't have the strongest engine. But I think they have an absolutely competitive power unit in a car that was designed to be high downforce with winglets that cover half the exhaust. So I think we're pretty much all on par," Wolff concluded.