FIA bans secret qualifying trick used by Mercedes and Red Bull

The FIA has stepped in to close a technical loophole in F1’s regulations that allowed Mercedes and Red Bull-powered teams to "hack" their qualifying laps for a final burst of speed.

According to a report from The Race, the move comes after both teams began exploiting an emergency safety feature to bypass power restrictions as they crossed the finish line.

To prevent cars from suddenly decelerating and causing high-speed collisions, Formula 1’s power unit regulations require a gradual reduction in power as the battery nears empty. However, Mercedes and Red Bull found a way to "dump" all remaining energy at once.

By triggering an emergency override to shut down the MGU-K (the motor generator unit that recovers kinetic energy), drivers could bypass the mandatory 50kW-per-second power taper.

This "trick" provided an immediate boost of 50 to 100kW right before the timing line – a significant advantage in a sport where pole position is often decided by thousandths of a second.

The catch to this override is a 60-second lockout where the MGU-K remains unusable. While this would be a disaster during a race, it carries zero consequence at the end of a qualifying lap when the driver is simply heading back to the pits at a slow speed.

A risk to reliability and fairness

The technique was apparently widely utilized during the Australian and Japanese Grands Prix. However, the "emergency" method wasn't without its costs.

In Japan, the trick’s complexity caused Alex Albon to stop on track after a qualifying simulation, and several other drivers faced technical complications from being locked out of their hybrid systems.

Ferrari was a leading voice in the paddock calling for a ban. While the Scuderia acknowledged that the practice technically followed the letter of the law, they argued it was becoming a "systematic" performance tool rather than the safety fallback it was intended to be.

The FIA has now responded by updating the software protocols for the Standard Electronics Control Unit (SECU). In a letter to the teams, the governing body has made it clear that the override function is strictly for genuine emergencies.

To ensure compliance, officials will monitor telemetry; since the 60-second lockout remains in place, any team triggering it without a clear mechanical failure will be easily identified and penalized.

Read also: FIA, manufacturers open ‘constructive dialogue’ on F1 engine rules

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