After the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, Mercedes have put themselves ahead in the early going, with Ferrari and possibly Red Bull shaping up as their closest competition.
George Russell took the win in Melbourne, finishing just ahead of teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli. Ferrari looked quick off the line, with their drivers rounding out the top four.
It’s still early to judge what Red Bull can do this year. Max Verstappen climbed from 20th to sixth after a qualifying crash, while Isack Hadjar had to retire due to a mechanical issue despite starting near the front.
McLaren are playing catch-up despite having Mercedes’ power unit, with Lando Norris a distant P5 in Melbourne and all other drivers being lapped by race end.
However, Toto Wolff says Mercedes are focused on keeping that gap intact.
Mercedes move to block Red Bull and Ferrari from power unit upgrades
There are fresh reports from MARCA in Spain shedding light on the lobbying efforts happening behind the scenes in Formula 1, as teams adjust to the sport’s new regulations.
During the Australian Grand Prix weekend, Lewis Hamilton voiced concerns that Mercedes’ advantage might be linked to a compression ratio trick discovered by his team. However, Mercedes are now pushing to block Red Bull and Ferrari from making power unit upgrades under the FIA’s ADUO rules.
The Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) rule lets manufacturers who fall significantly behind introduce updates at certain races. The first chance would come at race seven, though cancellations of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia could impact this timeline.
If an engine is between 2% and 4% slower than the benchmark — currently set by Mercedes — teams can make one upgrade after races six, 12, and 18. Engines more than 4% down can bring two updates in those periods.
Mercedes are reportedly aiming to manage their lead over Ferrari and Red Bull so that those teams don’t fit into the categories that would allow them extra development opportunities.
The only team not factoring into Mercedes’ calculations is Aston Martin, who have bigger issues to sort out. They’re dealing with vibrations from their Honda power unit that appear to be damaging their engines early in the season.
Mercedes’ fuel flow rate could be the key to their dominance
One of the less obvious differences between each car on the grid this season is the type of fuel being used, which has already had a clear impact on performance.
Every team now has to use sustainable fuels. Mercedes have gone with Petronas’ synthetic option, while Ferrari are running Shell’s biomass fuel.
Mercedes seem to have a better handle on managing their fuel flow compared to other teams using their power unit, which makes a big difference during qualifying sessions.
Williams aren’t happy with the level of information Mercedes have shared about their engine this year, but there’s no denying they’re still running the most competitive unit on the grid.
The long stints Russell and Antonelli managed in Melbourne highlighted that advantage. The compression trick Mercedes have developed also cuts down on fuel use, allowing for a lighter car with less tyre degradation.
Ferrari’s power unit offers great starts – as we saw in Australia – but when it comes to overall race pace, they seem just slightly behind. And right now, Mercedes don’t seem interested in giving them any room to close that gap.
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