The FIA and engine manufacturers are set for a decisive week of talks, with two separate meetings lined up to address the long-running debate over the engine compression ratio.

As reported by The Race, discussions will begin on Monday, centred on agreeing a consistent approach to measuring compression ratios under real operating conditions, rather than during cold, static tests.

At the heart of the controversy is the fact that compression checks — ahead of the planned shift from 18:1 to 16:1 in 2026 — are currently carried out in static conditions, drawing clear parallels with last season’s flexi-wing saga, instead of being assessed with engines running at temperature.

Those talks will then be followed on Thursday by a meeting of Formula 1’s Power Unit Advisory Committee (PUAC), taking place just days before the first Bahrain test. That session could represent the first concrete move towards clarifying how the issue will be handled going forward.

Since stepping aside last July and passing the baton to Laurent Mekies, the former Red Bull CEO and team principal has kept a low public profile. Even so, his name continues to echo around the paddock, regularly resurfacing as speculation grows over a possible return to the Formula 1 grid.

It is hardly unexpected. Individuals of his calibre rarely fade from the conversation — especially someone who built Red Bull into a powerhouse and oversaw a remarkable haul of titles and victories across the past two decades.

A record that stands shoulder to shoulder with that of his fiercest sporting rival, Toto Wolff, with Red Bull and Mercedes having shared dominance of Formula 1 for much of the last fifteen years.

Making his first public appearance since his departure at the European Motor Show in Dublin, the Briton also took the chance to reflect on his long-standing rivalry — and complex relationship — with the Austrian.