Mercedes can breathe a sigh of relief as the final piece of its Formula 1 2026 puzzle can finally be slotted into place.
The Brackley-based squad has been the subject of intense scrutiny over the course of the winter, largely due to the highly-contentious issue of its power unit.
Clarity on this situation has been produced through the FIA’s decision to change the rules of measuring the compression ratio – the focal point of the controversy – from June 1.
Another grey area for the Silver Arrows was its fuel, produced by long-term partner Petronas.
The Malaysian organisation has, like all fuel suppliers for teams, been forced to produce a sustainable fuel as per the new rules.
This was under question, as Petronas had been under considerable pressure to receive certification prior to the homologation date, as it was apparently lagging behind its rivals.
Failure to do so would have resulted in Mercedes being forced to use another fuel that would have been legal, but would have put it at a considerable power disadvantage.
But, according to The Race, Petronas has, at the 11th hour, been able to receive homologation, therefore the team can now participate in this weekend’s season-opener in Melbourne without any additional strife.
The new fuel now means a more rigorous and complex process in determining whether it is worthy of homologation and the FIA has delegated this to a third party called Zemo.
This organisation is in charge of testing and overseeing the general process until the homologation.
READ MORE – Ex-F1 stalwart believes Mercedes is ‘comfortable’ with controversial PU
Discussion about this post