Lewis Hamilton: FIA must “take care” of Mercedes engine trick

Lewis Hamilton has urged the FIA to "take care" of the compression ratio debate, which is taking place in the paddock. This comes as the seven-time Formula 1 world champion tests in Bahrain ahead of the 2026 season. 

Wearing Ferrari colours for the second season after a long and successful stint driving Mercedes machinery, the driver has confronted the idea that the Brackley outfit is benefiting from a trick involving its power units' compression ratio when asked by Sky Sports F1.

Despite what looks like dominant engineering from Mercedes, he's keen to not read too much into lap times.

“Basically, it’s like Monza downforce everywhere. So you’re sliding around on the top of the tyres, so it doesn’t feel particularly great," he said in regards to the wind at the track after the first day of testing.

“In some corners it feels good. And because of the wind, some corners feel good because you’ve got a headwind — but most of the others you’ve got either tailwind or crosswind, and it’s a moving goalpost.

"I think everyone's in the same boat."

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets after a long second day of testing, and McLaren driver and reigning champion Lando Norris finished beneath him by half a second. 

“Impossible to know at the moment," Hamilton said when asked about the pecking order of the grid. "I hope we’re in the mix. I think we all look quite close — apart from Mercedes.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Giuseppe Cacace - AFP - Getty Images

“But we don’t know what fuel loads people are on. There are whispers of certain fuel loads that Mercedes are on. There are whispers of extra power they have that the rest of us don’t — the compression ratio sort of thing."

The Briton seemed keen for that to be ironed out by the championship's governing body: "So hopefully that gets sorted. And the FIA take care of that and make sure we’re all starting on an even playing field.”

Hamilton joins several teams in a push for the FIA to take action over what many believe goes against the regulations. And while Mercedes and its team principal Toto Wolff have strongly pushed back at these allegations, both the team and the FIA are facing intense pressure. 

“We’ve spent a lot of time discussing how we solve those issues, and our intention is of course to solve them for the start of the season," FIA single seater director Nikolas Tombazis said. 

“We don’t want to have controversies, we want people to be competing on the track – not in the courtroom or in the stewards room. And that’s what we try to do.”

Whether intervention comes before the Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton - and others - are keen to see action.