Mercedes F1 Revives Banned Qualifying Trick with Clever New Workaround

Three months after the FIA outlawed Mercedes' qualifying power boost trick, the team has quietly brought it back—this time, legally. During Silverstone testing, drivers Kimi Antonelli and George Russell were spotted lifting off the throttle just before crossing the timing line on flying laps.

What looks like a simple mistake is actually a calculated move that sidesteps the ban while delivering the same edge.

The original trick let Mercedes and Red Bull sustain maximum 350kW output longer than allowed by exploiting a rule that permitted bypassing the power ramp-down if the MGU-K shut down due to a technical issue. The catch: a 60-second MGU-K lockout after shutdown, which is harmless at the end of a qualifying lap but caused cars to stop on track during races—like Alex Albon at Suzuka.

That forced the FIA to ban it before Miami.

The new version at Silverstone is simpler and fully legal. Instead of touching the MGU-K, Mercedes uses a separate allowance: drivers lift off the throttle before the battery runs dry at 350kW, triggering a negative power demand that lets them skip the 50kW-per-second drop. FIA sources confirm the technique is within the rules, as long as power hasn't already dropped by more than 50kW in a single second before the lift.

Data from sprint qualifying shows Antonelli gaining 7-8 km/h on Lewis Hamilton out of Club Corner, then easing off to let Hamilton cross the line faster. 011 seconds behind. Staying flat might have earned pole, but would have risked breaking the ramp-down rules.

Silverstone's short run from the final corner to the line makes the trick especially effective here, which is likely why Mercedes debuted it at this race. Rival teams have already spotted the tactic, so expect it to become a hot topic in the paddock. Mercedes didn't invent rule-bending in F1, but it has a knack for finding doors the FIA thought it had locked.