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Mercedes has been the dominant force since the introduction of the turbo hybrid power units and is reportedly in the strongest position going into the new regulations. Amid this, Toto Wolff came out and claimed that the Brackley-based outfit will cut down its power unit customer, and the fans reacted to the same.
Mercedes power units have won 10 constructor championships since the turbo hybrid regulations were introduced in 2014. Throughout the era, the German team continued to be one of the top, if not the top, power units in terms of performance and reliability.
As a result, over the years, nearly half the grid shifted to using the Mercedes power unit. As of the 2025 season, Aston Martin, Williams, and McLaren were all Mercedes customer teams. Going into 2026, Aston Martin will leave to become a works team in collaboration with Honda, and Alpine will join as a customer team.
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Despite having the advantage of being a works team, Mercedes lost the 2024 and 2025 Constructors' titles to their customer team, McLaren. Toto Wolff and MD of Mercedes AMG HPP Hywel Thomas, recently came out on the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast and discussed the 2026 power units.
Amid this, the Mercedes CEO came out and suggested cutting down on the customer teams, as he said,
“Our current mindset is, also discussing with Ola, that we will reduce the amount of teams we’re going to supply in the next cycle.”
Fans took to the social media platform X and reacted to Toto Wolff's claims as they wrote,
“Can't have a customer car beat you two years in a row 😂😂😂,” commented a user
Another wrote, “Well they‘re clearly sick of McLaren’s technical team dunking on their *ss😭😭😭”
“Bye bye McLaren,” commented another
Some came out and questioned Mercedes’ decision to take up Alpine as their customer team for 2026 if they wanted to reduce the teams, while others pondered upon the possible customer team-supplier combinations.
“So why did they just take on Alpine then?” commented a user
Another wrote, “Must be McLaren. Didn't hear Mercedes get any positive PR from winning the championship with them. They won't want teams beating the works team if they have the best engine.”
“Imagine Mclaren-Ferrari HAHAHAHSHAHA 😭,” comments another user
Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff assesses the 2026 Mercedes power unit rumors
Mercedes dominated the early years of major engine regulation changes when the turbo hybrid was introduced in 2014. As per the rumors, the Brackley-based team currently leads the development of the 2026 power unit and is the favorite going into the season. However, Wolff came out with a realistic assessment as he said,
“Never confident. We are half glass, half empty people, never half full. It starts with the enemy in the house. McLaren has been the better team this year with a Mercedes power unit. So, if the power unit were to be superior, which we never feel entitled to say so, then you got to beat Williams, you got to beat McLaren and you got to beat Alpine.”
According to the rumors, the 2026 Honda and Ferrari are said to be there or thereabout compared to the Mercedes power unit, whereas Red Bull Ford and Audi have had some troubles.
