Ferrari Tests Mercedes’ Clever 2026 MGU-K Loophole, But the Risk is Disqualification

In the highly regulated world of Formula 1, finding a gray area in the rulebook can be the difference between starting on pole and starting on the second row. For the 2026 season, Mercedes engineers found a clever loophole in electrical energy deployment—and rival teams are finally starting to test the waters.

According to a recent report from The Race, Scuderia Ferrari actively trialed Mercedes’ controversial “lift-off” trick during practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix. While both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton successfully executed the maneuver in practice, Ferrari’s pit wall ultimately decided to abandon the strategy for Saturday’s critical qualifying session.

Here is exactly how the MGU-K loophole works, and why Ferrari determined the massive risk of disqualification wasn’t worth the reward in Budapest.

The 350kW Ramp-Down Rule

To understand the trick, you have to look at the new 2026 engine regulations. With the MGU-H completely removed, the MGU-K handles all electrical energy recovery and deployment. To prevent a sudden, dangerous loss of speed at the end of long straights when the battery dies, the FIA mandates a strict “ramp-down” procedure. As cars approach the end of a lap, they must reduce their energy deployment in gradual steps of at least 50kW per second.

This means drivers are forced to step down from their maximum 350kW deployment to 300kW, then 250kW, and so on as they cross the timing line.

However, Mercedes discovered a highly specific allowance in the regulations: a driver does not have to comply with the 50kW ramp-down rate if they physically lift off the throttle before the battery hits 0%.

By utilizing this allowance, a driver can maintain the maximum 350kW deployment for much longer down the straight, securing a higher top speed right at the end of a hot lap. All they have to do is perfectly time a sudden lift off the throttle just meters before the finish line, instantaneously cutting the power right before the battery hits zero.

While it sounds simple, executing this maneuver perfectly at over 200 mph is incredibly difficult, and the penalty for getting it wrong is severe. If a driver misjudges the timing and drains the battery completely before lifting off, it constitutes a blatant breach of the FIA’s ramp-down regulations. The penalty for this specific technical breach is an outright disqualification from the session.

Why Ferrari Bailed in Hungary

According to the report, Ferrari’s engineers crunched the practice data and realized the Hungaroring’s “energy-rich” layout simply didn’t offer a large enough benefit.

Because the track features a relatively long run to the start/finish line, utilizing the lift-off trick was only yielding a lap-time gain of roughly 0.050 seconds. The team concluded that risking a double disqualification for a mere half-tenth of a second was completely unjustifiable.

However, Formula 1 is a game of margins. While Ferrari shelved the tactic in Hungary, the team noted that tighter qualifying margins could make it worthwhile elsewhere. As the paddock heads toward energy-starved tracks with shorter runs to the timing line, do not be surprised to see Ferrari dust off the Mercedes trick in a desperate bid for pole position.