Piastri a 'passenger' as Wolff admits disadvantage

Oscar Piastri says the 2026 power unit is driving him as much as he drives it. Toto Wolff, unusually candid, agrees customer teams are paying the price.

Oscar Piastri says Formula 1 drivers can feel like passengers of an AI program in 2026, as Toto Wolff acknowledges Mercedes-powered customer teams face an inherent disadvantage under the new regulations.

McLaren has repeatedly raised concerns that Mercedes develops the power unit alongside its own chassis, while customers receive less information and can face delays integrating new specifications.

Piastri says the problem is compounded by the enormous influence electrical deployment now has over performance.

Asked whether he sometimes feels like the passenger of an AI program that is still being trained, he admitted: "Sometimes, yes."

"We've got no control over where the deployment happens, more or less. When you've got those differences there that you have no control over, it can be frustrating."

At Spa, works driver George Russell suffered another mysterious Mercedes deployment problem before his first-lap retirement.

"There was just something deeply embedded in the calibration of the code," the Mercedes driver explained.

"It's almost impossible to detect unless you know exactly what you're looking for."

Piastri believes the problem will improve as manufacturers gain experience, but will never disappear completely under the current engine formula.

"I think they're going to be a factor for as long as we have these engines, to an extent.

Mercedes boss Wolff has now conceded that Mercedes' works team inevitably began the new era with an integration advantage over world champions McLaren.

"During the new regulations, a team that develops both the power unit and chassis in-house will always have a certain advantage," he acknowledged.

"This is simply because chassis development using a simulator always comes with a certain delay. That's why there are things that need to be learned on the chassis side when integrating the powertrain."

Wolff concedes the advantage

However, Wolff denied that McLaren's public concerns have damaged relations between the two organisations.

"No," said the Austrian.

"On the contrary, Andrea Stella and Zak Brown have assessed the situation very correctly and with great understanding.

"Right now, it's a bit of a race to catch up. But I believe we're already approaching a point where the pace of development and level of understanding will begin to level out.

"And then all the teams will have a roughly equal understanding of these issues."

Piastri said McLaren's 2026 car has always been difficult to drive.

"At the start of the season we had more to worry about on the power unit side of things, in terms of stuff we could actually control and manage ourselves, and things I could do with my driving style," said the Australian.

"Whereas now, there are still things we need to be careful of with the power unit, but it's not really in our control as much anymore."

2026 power unit rules: fact box

See also: 2026 F1 season hub on F1-Fansite.

Related: Wolff's 'most powerful' engine claim fuels FIA row

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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