Toto Wolff doesn’t think it is comparable between the 2014 era or regulations and the F1 2026 as they enter, amid reports of Mercedes power unit being the best again.
After Mercedes routed competition at the start of the 2014 era of hybrid power units, the same is expected as per several reports from the German manufacturer at the start of the new era in 2026, where the hybrid engines remain, but with a big twist and more electrical power.
Mercedes will have more rivals than what it had in 2014, as the current grid of Honda and Ferrari, will be joined by Red Bull Powertrains/Ford and Audi in 2026, while General Motors will follow suit few years down the line. And so, the German manufacturer has more rivals to defeat in terms of power unit.
They are cautious for now as Wolff reckons it is not a comparable era considering the closeness now of the grid. The Austrian recalled the last race in Abu Dhabi and Mercedes finishing only second to highlight that it won’t be an easy task even if their power unit is good enough.
“Yeah, so it’s super difficult to predict because we set ourselves targets that we are on track to meet, but whether those targets were set ambitious enough and whether those targets have been set in the right place in terms of priorities only the future will show and this is not far away,” said Wolff to media.
“It’s actually awful to say. The race day in Abu Dhabi was the first day in the morning where I thought I don’t want to go to a racetrack and so to be honest, no idea. I remember that press conference in Brazil where I was calculating with a pen and paper of what points we needed to finish second in the championship [in 2025]. We ended up winning three races and P2 and certainly more cheerful than the last race of the year.
“I kind of had the feeling already in the winter [back in 2014] when we were the first one running a full car dyno, the engine was more reliable than it seemed with the other people and obviously day one testing, nobody did some laps, we did and the same on day two. So it’s not comparable, I would say. The grid is just much more competitive than it was in previous years,” summed up Wolff.
Here’s George Russell on 2025 being better than 2022 season
Here’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli on Monza moment
