Toto Wolff ERUPTS Over “Illegal Mercedes” Claims!

Toto Wolff is having none of the claims of Mercedes using illegal tricks in their challengers for the 2026 season.

Toto Wolff ERUPTS Over “Illegal Mercedes” Claims!

Toto Wolff (via planetf1)

In Short
  • Mercedes faces controversy over alleged illegal compression ratio and fuel issues.
  • Toto Wolff dismisses claims as rival speculation and insists they are unfounded.
  • Wolff maintains focus on performance, stating controversies won't affect team's goals for 2026 season.

Mercedes is finding itself at the center of multiple controversial situations amid the 2026 season preparations. First, the team was rumored to be using an illegal compression ratio trick, which gave them an advantage on track. Now, the team’s fuel supplier, Petronas, has landed in hot water because of non-homologated fuel at the start of the season. Toto Wolff has responded to these claims and isn’t impressed by the situation.

Petronas, the long-time fuel supplier and sponsor for Mercedes, might be ruled out from providing the same in the 2026 season. The Malaysian giant must obtain a valid certification and homologation for the sustainable fuel used by Mercedes this year. If they fail to do so, Mercedes and its power unit customer teams will have to use provisional fuel for the time being.

Toto Wolff had none of these claims and snapped back when asked about his thoughts on the status quo. Wolff reckoned that the fuel claim was one of the many stories speculated by the rivals. The Austrian recalled how their compression ratio trick was believed to be illegal, which he believes is ‘utter bulls**t’. Now, the next story was about Mercedes using illegal fuels in their power units.

This is another of these stories, we were told the compression ratio is illegal, which is total bullshit, utter bullshit, and now the next story comes up that our fuel is illegal.

Toto Wolff said, as reported by RacingNews365.

Further, Toto Wolff questioned where these speculations were stemming from and why the rivals were specifically targeting Mercedes. The 54-year-old then joked that the next thing they would claim would be his name coming up in the Epstein files, which certainly wouldn’t be a laughing stock. Ultimately, Wolff believed that all these rumors were nonsense and he couldn’t even comment on them.

I don’t know where that comes from, and it starts spinning again. Maybe tomorrow we’re inventing something else that I don’t know, has been on the Epstein files. [It is] Another nonsense. This is a complicated topic and the process and all of this, but there’s just not… I can’t even comment.

Toto Wolff added.

Toto Wolff reassures Mercedes’ controversies “don’t change anything” for the team

Despite Mercedes seemingly being in a whirlwind of trouble in the media, Toto Wolff has his focus on the performance side of things. Wolff asserts that as long as the German carmaker is performing well on the track, he has nothing to worry about. The Team Principal reassured that the team’s focus remained on achieving a great start to the 2026 season, and their goals remain unchanged.

Zak Brown and Toto Wolff (via Planetf1)
Zak Brown and Toto Wolff (via Planetf1)

Toto Wolff noted that the current situation seemed like a storm in a teacup to him. The 54-year-old acknowledged why the rivals would want to fight the situation, but in the end, it was not worth the hassle. Wolff reassured that the current controversy did not change anything for Brackley, but they wanted to be good citizens in Formula 1 without any problems. Ultimately, it did not make a big difference in their goals and ambitions for the 2026 season.

We’ve said all along that this looks like a storm in a teacup, and the numbers which were coming up, you would absolutely understand why somebody would fight it, but eventually, it is not worth fighting.  It doesn’t change anything for us, whether we stay like this, or whether we change to the new regulations, and it is a process, but we want to be good citizens in the sport, because it doesn’t make a big difference.

Toto Wolff noted.

Both the pre-season testing sessions are over, and the season-opener in Australia is up next. The first race of the 2026 season will show the full picture and reveal where the teams stand against one another. For now, Mercedes seems to be at the forefront of development and hopes to start the season on a positive note.

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