Toto Wolff has delivered a telling update on rumours surrounding the apparent strengths of the Mercedes’ 2026 power unit as Formula 1 pre-season testing draws closer.
Mercedes ended the previous power unit era as comfortably the top team, taking a staggering 189 wins between 2014 and 2025 despite a performance drop during the ground-effect years.
Such was their advantage in the early years of the regulations, the Silver Arrows won 16 out of 19 races in 2014 and 2015, increasing this to 19 out of 21 in 2017.
Its dominance lay in its extensive preparations for the switch from V8s to the 1.6 litre turbo hybrids, starting its programme years before its rivals.
Ahead of testing, rumours are circulating that Mercedes has once again nailed the new power unit regulations, which see a 50:50 split between internal combustion and hybrid power.
But Toto Wolff has attempted to pour cold water on suggestions Mercedes are on track for a repeat of its all conquering 2014 season, revealing he is not confident.
“Never confident. We are glass-half-empty people, never half-full,” he said on the Beyond the Grid Podcast.
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Wolff highlighted the competitive difference between Mercedes and McLaren, the latter winning back-to-back championships in 2024, while Mercedes took just four wins.
“It starts with the enemy in the house,” he admitted.
“McLaren has been the better team this year with a Mercedes power unit.
“So, if the power unit were to be superior, which we never say and we never feel entitled to say so, then you’ve got to beat Williams, you’ve got to beat McLaren, and you’ve got to beat Alpine.
“Some of them will have had more development time in the wind tunnel because they’ve not been placed very well in the Constructors’ Championship.
“Some will have come with innovation that maybe we haven’t spotted, etc, etc. So you can’t take anything for granted, even if our power unit, the Mercedes power unit, was the strongest.
“On top of that, these rumour mills are always dangerous, because someone, somewhere in another team or another power unit manufacturer or fuel supplier will think, ‘Well, we like to position you guys in the favourite role, but we are coming’, and that’s why we are not being carried away by any gossip that’s been discussed at the hairdresser.”
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