People in the Formula 1 paddock now believe one team are ‘best placed’ to dominate the 2026 season, ‘the word in F1…’

While the 2025 Formula 1 season is still in its early stages, there has already been a lot of talk about what’s going to happen next season.

There are already suggestions that the 2026 F1 regulations changes are going to have a serious impact on the quality of the racing next year.

New power units are being introduced, an updated aerodynamics package is required and the cars are set to be 30kg lighter.

Several teams will also be working with new engine suppliers, with Red Bull developing their own power unit, and Audi entering the sport under their own steam.

Teams are unable to begin testing their new creations yet, although there will be triple the number of available pre-season days running ahead of the 2026 campaign beginning.

All eyes are on which team is going to dominate what’s expected to be a formula led by which manufacturer has the best power unit.

That’s where Mercedes enter the equation as team principal Toto Wolff has been vocal about plans to make a last-minute change to next year’s ruleset.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 CEO and team principal Toto Wolff

Mercedes could be the ‘best placed’ team for the 2026 F1 season according to people in the paddock

A report from BBC Sport journalist Andrew Benson has shared more details about the feeling within Formula 1 about next year’s ruleset.

He writes that just because Mercedes nailed the previous engine changes in 2014, which Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg benefited from, there’s no guarantee that will happen again.

However, Wolff has been quick to rule out any changes to the upcoming regulations, presumably because he feels his team are well placed to benefit from them.

Ferrari have always been strong in this area, while Honda have recently played a crucial role in Max Verstappen’s four titles, and Aston Martin will benefit from their expertise next year.

But Benson has suggested that ‘the word in F1’ is that Mercedes are the ‘best placed’ team currently to thrive under the new rules.

He reports that the feeling among people in the paddock is that any suggestion of changing the upcoming regulations is founded upon Mercedes’ rivals being worried about their dominance.

In particular, Red Bull believe they may face a ‘competitive deficit’ in 2026 and beyond, even with Ford on board to help work on Red Bull Powertrains’ first power unit without the assistance of Honda.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Mercedes F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Mercedes must solve their driver line-up conundrum to capitalise on F1’s 2026 rule changes

There are only two teams in the paddock that don’t have one driver confirmed for next season: Mercedes and Racing Bulls.

Racing Bulls has proven to be a revolving door of driver moves over the years, with Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson swapping just a few races ago.

Isack Hadjar has impressed during his first five races, but it doesn’t appear as though Red Bull want to commit too soon to either him or Lawson.

Mercedes, on the other hand, face a trickier proposition with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Both drivers would like to commit their futures to the team, although Mercedes won’t accept Russell’s initial contract demands.

However, there’s also the possibility that Verstappen could become available if he’s dissatisfied with what’s going on at Red Bull.

Mercedes have been interested in Verstappen for some time, and if he senses that the Silver Arrows will have an advantage over the grid next year, he might push for the move.

That leaves having to make a very difficult call on which pairing he goes with in 2026.