FIA bans Mercedes and Red Bull Qualifying trick after safety concerns

The FIA has banned a clever qualifying trick used by Mercedes and Red Bull that had given their cars a meaningful speed advantage at the end of qualifying laps.

Rather than following the usual "ramp down" procedure, Mercedes and Red Bull were able to keep maximum deployment active for longer. That created an advantage of 50-100kW over rivals whose power was being gradually reduced.

How the trick worked

In normal circumstances, triggering the shutdown creates a 60-second lockout period, which would be hugely costly in a race or most qualifying scenarios. But the teams discovered it could still be useful on the final run to the line, because the following slow-down lap did not require MGU-K power.

Safety concerns force a response

The practice raised safety concerns after the Japanese Grand Prix, when the issue became more visible. Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen both suffered power losses that left them crawling through corners, while Alexander Albon was forced to stop entirely in practice after complications linked to the system.

According to The Race, Ferrari also raised concerns about the safety implications.

The FIA has now apparently issued updated technical directives making clear that MGU-K shutdowns must be used only for genuine emergencies, not as a deliberate performance tool.