Mercedes is quietly preparing to hit the ground running under Formula 1’s all-new 2026 engine regulations, and according to the manufacturer’s engine guru Hywel Thomas, it’s “definitely possible” the Brackley squad may already have gained an edge over their rivals.
With the 2026 regulations demanding a 50:50 power split between internal combustion and electrical energy, Mercedes High Performance Powertrains is looking to recreate the "unfair advantage" that saw them dominate the early turbo-hybrid era.
Thomas isn't just leaning into the challenge; he's subtly acknowledging that while the rules were designed to stop anyone from running away with the trophy, a silver bullet might still be out there.
The 2014 Blueprint: Innovation Over Invention
The parallels to 2014 are inescapable. Back then, Mercedes invented technologies that simply didn't exist in the automotive world, such as an electric turbo spinning at over 100,000 rpm.
This time around, the hardware feels more familiar, but the application is where the magic – and the potential "march" – is hidden.
“I think the project was very much of our own building,” Thomas said, speaking on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.
“The elements all existed, so you’re talking about putting incredible stretch targets on yourself and taking some leaps and doing that. But it was all created by ourselves.
“It wasn’t unlike the fuel, where the sport’s gone, ‘You’ve got to do this’. For us, it was more, ‘How are we going to pull this together? What should our part targets be, and where should we be investing our cash?’
“Because, at the same time, we’ve been added into a PU cost cap, so that’s another competitive element that all of a sudden appears.”
Thomas identified a holy trinity of performance for the new era: crank power, electrical efficiency, and the "dark art" of integration.
“The efficiency of the electrical system, the more efficient you are with your electrical system, the more time you’re going to be able to keep it on, which means you’re going quicker,” he noted.
However, the true differentiator lies in the synergy of the package.
“But I think the third element is, how does it all work together? How do you make that work together? How do you transiently get, use all that energy? A how do you transiently use the power? How do you interact with the car, a completely new car?”
The Driver’s New Chess Match
If 2014 was a hardware war, 2026 is shaping up to be a strategic chess match played at 200 mph. Drivers will no longer just be pilots; they will be energy managers, forced to decide exactly when to deploy their 350-kilowatt electrical boost and when to save it.
“The driver is going to be able to do one straight incredibly quickly, if they really want to, but they’ll be knackered for the rest of the lap, so they can’t do that even if they want to,” Thomas joked.
“So that strategic element and working out where you use all of this, I think, is that there’s a big part of that too.”
While rival manufacturers like Ferrari, Audi, and Honda are nervously eyeing the rumored "compression loophole" that might give Mercedes a 15-horsepower edge, Thomas remains coy about the pecking order.
“Quite frankly, I don’t know how much power we’re going to get to the first race, so God knows how the rest of the paddock knows what we’re getting there!” he quipped.
Yet, when pushed on whether one team could truly leave the others in the dust, his answer was telling.
“Always possible. Definitely always possible,” he confirmed. “Although the regulation set was put together in a way to try to avoid that.
“So there are some constraints on there that do constrain you to certain ways of doing things. So if that’s gone well, it’s less likely that someone’s going to steal a march.
“But who’s to say someone hasn’t found a loophole, hasn’t found the amazing thing that nobody else has?”
Read also: Mercedes F1 reveals launch date for 2026 W17 Silver Arrow
With pre-season testing on the horizon, the pressure is building. But for Thomas, that pressure is a privilege.
“If you always think you’re a bit behind and you’re always pushing to get that extra bit, I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” he concluded.
If history is any judge, when Mercedes feels "a bit behind," the rest of the grid usually ends up seeing nothing but their rear wing.
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