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Report: Volkswagen at Crossroads With Mercedes F1 Over Crucial Engine Budget Decision for 2026

Published 10/01/2021, 6:30 AM EDT

Ever since the massive regulation changes in 2014, Mercedes have been the most dominant team amidst the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams. And while the 2022 regulation changes are likely to bunch up the grid significantly, it looks like Mercedes could well remain at the top.

Moreover, with the engine freeze at bay, one can hardly expect any major changes in teams’ performance; This trend will probably persist until the end of 2025. But, beyond 2025 is where Mercedes might find themselves in a bit of a scuffle.

The outcome of the meet at Monza was quite effective, as all the engine suppliers agreed upon the arrival of Audi and Porsche in 2026. However, the Volkswagen Group ended up raising serious concerns pointing at fellow German manufacturers, Mercedes.

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What are Audi and Porsche planning?

There have been a wide array of disagreements surrounding the Budget cap. Yes, F1 recently provided a solution to this; They opined that the newcomers would get a concession on the budget, while the current teams continue to work with their limit.

However, Volkswagen want more! According to Auto Motor Und Sport, the newcomers are demanding their budget cap to be as high as possible. But, consequently, they are also wanting to set Mercedes’ limits as low as possible.

This is because, unlike the newcomers, Mercedes are an independent outfit, that own the capability to manufacture most of the parts in-house. Their point of view does sound reasonable enough.

Nevertheless, this is certainly not going to go down well with Mercedes, as the 7-time world champions are going to object to this particular demand.

Why only Mercedes and not Red Bull too?

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One might consider this point. Mercedes and Red Bull are now competing for the title, and are looking strong enough to extend this dominance into the future years. So, amidst such similarities, why are Audi and Porsche only targeting Mercedes and not Red Bull?

Well, the truth is, Red Bull, themselves, have a massive undertaking in hand. The Milton Keynes outfit are busy taking over the massive engine project from Honda. And this is consequently draining millions and millions of money out of the team.

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So, it would be quite unfair to set such a low-budget cap on Red Bull, going into 2026. Meanwhile, Mercedes will look much comfortable with hardly any financial crunch. Hence, Volkswagen are rushing to prevent yet another era of Mercedes dominance in F1. But, will F1 oblige to their suggestion?

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Written by:

Rohit Kumar is an F1 author at EssentiallySports. He has been an ardent follower of the racing series since 2007, with his love for the sport coinciding with his love for Kimi Raikkonen. He is also an ardent follower of Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin Racing.

Report: Volkswagen at Crossroads With Mercedes F1 Over Crucial Engine Budget Decision for 2026

What are Audi and Porsche planning?

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Why only Mercedes and not Red Bull too?