Steve Nielsen defended the Mercedes engines and challenged the rivals to protest: 'If you really feel that way, do something about it'

The 2026 season of Formula 1 hasn't formally started yet, but it has already unleashed its first major political battle. The focus of the discussion is on the Mercedes engine and on the compression ratio it reaches when the car is running, a point that some manufacturers want to review before the Australian Grand Prix, scheduled for March 8.

During preseason testing in Bahrain, the spotlight was on the fact that the German power unit complies with the regulatory 16:1 ratio in static tests at ambient temperature, as the rules require. However, under track conditions it can reach a higher ratio, which translates into more power. That difference caused complaints and maneuvering within the paddock.

Alpine, which this year is using Mercedes engines after leaving Renault units behind, replied to the criticism. Its sporting director, Steve Nielsen, was blunt in defending the legality of the power unit. "It is quite clear. It says very clearly ambient temperature," he stated.

"The regulations are crystal clear regarding when the compression ratio is measured. Some other people are trying to introduce parameters that are different from that. We trust that the governing body will do the right thing," he added.

The Briton also targeted those who are seeking to change the interpretation before the start of the championship. "If they really feel that strongly about it, then they should put something on the line and do something about it," he said, in reference to a possible formal protest after the first race.

As meetings are held and an official gathering is expected in the coming days, the general intention is to prevent the conflict from escalating into a legal claim once the Australian Grand Prix has been held. Nielsen, in any case, made it clear that the debate goes beyond the specific performance of an engine.

"If we say that a set of very clearly established regulations can be challenged in this way, then what else is left off limits? Everything becomes subject to discussion," he warned. He went further: "Do we really want a sport in which what is clearly written can simply be challenged because some people feel like doing so? I think that is something that the FIA must answer."

It should be clarified that in order to modify an already established point of the regulations, a supermajority in the Power Unit Advisory Committee (four of the five manufacturers), together with the FIA and FOM, must agree. Meanwhile, the expectation is that the focus in Melbourne will be on the new single-seaters and not on a technical dispute that threatens to escalate