Lewis Hamilton threatened by Toto Wolff as Mercedes F1 boss issues blunt warning

Toto Wolff has warned that will be fierce rivals to after he joins next term.

will enter a new era in 2026 when new regulations come into force. Next year, teams will have to strike the right balance between competing for silverware in the short term and ensuring their hit the ground running when a new generation of F1 cars hits the grid.

insists his Mercedes team is sticking firmly to their development trajectory. That's despite a slow start to the current season which looked to vindicate the seven-time F1 champion's decision to leave, though they have since made impressive progress and Hamilton has won twice this term.

Wolff is positive that this upward trend will roll into 2025 and told : "This is the crux of the matter every year, and especially if you have such a big regulatory change, are you going to compromise one year or the other? But I'd like to take it from Niki's [Lauda] motto, when being asked, 'Would you rather win this one or the next one?' And he says, 'Both.'

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"Sometimes it is much less complex than one thinks. Probably the transition of people and capability into the 2026 regulations is going to happen a bit earlier than it would under stable regulations, but it's not going to be game-changing."

"Nobody is going to switch the machines off in January unless you are really nowhere. But there is nothing to gain because between P10 and P7 doesn't make a difference for us anyway. We are fighting for victories and podiums and cannot write it off."

The general belief within the F1 paddock is that Mercedes could pose a significant challenge with the introduction of the 2026 regulations due to their impressive engine development track record. Their power unit was a key factor in their dominance during the turbo-hybrid era, which began in 2014 when the Silver Arrows embarked on an eight-year winning streak in the constructors' championship, and the buzz around their new engine is quite positive.

team principal knows all about those efforts, given his many years working for Mercedes. And he gave his old employer his vote of confidence as he explained on the the Beyond the Grid podcast why Williams have decided to extend their engine supply deal with Mercedes.

He said: "I think Mercedes have done an exceptional job which is why I was very happy to re-sign back up for an extension to it. And I think you're going to see differences in power units that don't exist.

"Today, pretty much all power units are much of a muchness. I think that will all change in 2026 and you will see a difference between the power units. I don't think it will be the levels you saw in 2014 where there was such a wide spread between the field."