The F1 team bosses shared their opinion on the latest potential discussions on the 2026 power unit regulations after the agenda list was shared among them.
After the meeting in Bahrain, it looked things were settled regarding the 2026 regulations and now the talk was regarding the future beyond the current regulations. The revamped V6 hybrid power unit is to stay in 2026, but whether it remains in use for the next cycle, it is to be decided.
The mooted talk hovered around the V10 power units using the sustainable fuel. But it didn’t take long for the talks to get pushed back into the 2026 forum when a report in Saudi Arabia noted about the F1 Commission’s meet’s agenda to discuss about a potential issue with next year’s power unit.
It is related to power deployment and how it will be difficult to sustain the 350kW power on certain F1 circuits which have long straights and are power hungry. Due to the increase in electrical power output, the concern is that they won’t be able to sustain and they will lose battery power.
The 2026 power unit was idea-ted in 2022 with the aim for a 50-50 on combustion and electrical balance via sustainable fuel. Reports suggests Mercedes is likely to be at the forefront of the field once again as their power unit is talked to be the best prepared and Toto Wolff is not happy for the discussions.
The F1 Commission is to discuss the matter today, with the topic raised by Red Bull. Team boss Christian Horner noted that this is not a new topic, but one that has been floated since the last two years. Meanwhile, other bosses like Andrea Stella and Frederic Vasseur voiced their opinions too.
Toto Wolff: “Reading the agenda of the F1 commission is almost as hilarious as reading some of the comments that I see on Twitter on American politics. I really want to protect ourselves and make no comment, but it’s a joke. A week ago, there was an engine meeting and then things like this end up on the agenda again.”
Christian Horner: “I think Mercedes seem very confident in the job that they’ve done for next year. I think that this is something that we asked to be looked at two years ago and it’s not something that we’ve pushed to be on the agenda this week at all. The FIA have gone away and done their research, and I think what they want to desperately avoid is a lot of lifting and coasting in the grand prix itself, which is going to be not particularly good for the sport and hugely frustrating for the drivers. So, it’s not something that we’ve lobbied for or asked for, and if they’re doing it in the interest of the sport, then you’ve got to support it.
“I think there are certain circuits…the problem is, the faster cars go through the corner, the bigger the issue will be and the designers will always design cars that go quicker through the corners. The FIA think they will so then that only compounds your problem. I actually think what they’ve proposed – that you have a push to pass element in the race to deploy, actually looks pretty sensible, but it’s something that obviously we should have ideally looked at two years ago but it’s still 10 months before we’re racing. So I don’t see it as a major issue.”
Andrea Stella: “My opinion is very clear. The principle I want to state very strongly is that it is the responsibility of all the stakeholders to make sure that the 2026 regulations are successful, because there’s no point in teams competing with each other if we don’t have a good sport. The quality of sport, the quality of spectacle, the quality of racing is a function of the product, from a chassis and power unit point of view. So I think keeping the conversation open, such that we really go into the details considering overtaking, considering power deployment, considering power harvesting, everything that determines the quality of the product and therefore of the spectacle and therefore the health of the business; we should look into that and we shouldn’t say it’s frozen.
“If we see that some things need to stay open, then I think we need to have this open mind and keep working on that. Obviously these adjustments don’t have to be structural. We’re not going to change the hardware, but if there’s minor changes that we need to apply in the way we use the hardware, and this improves these characteristics that I said, then I think this is part of the responsibilities of all the stakeholders and when I say stakeholders it’s F1, FIA and the teams. And when the interest is bigger than the individual interest, I think we need to put the common interest before our own.”
Frederic Vasseur: “Honestly, the proposition came on Saturday and I didn’t have time to think about it and to discuss with the engine guy. What is true is that we need to be open-minded on the situation because it is the first time that we have such a big change on the regulation, starting from engine, chassis and now the sporting. We have to review everything. We have the F1 commission on Thursday, let’s discuss about this. I am open to discuss because we have to be focused on what is the best for the F1 for the future. We have a small advantage to be at 250-260-265 or whatever. But it is a typical corner and we have to work together. Again, I am coming back to the previous answer. I think we changed the global regulation for the engine, with the story of 50-50.
“So that you follow the discussion that was five years ago. The consequence of it is probably that we underestimate the consequences at this stage, on the weight of the car, on the performance of the car. I think that we have to make some adjustments on the chassis side. Let’s call it the Turbo DRS or the X dead mode. And then you have the sporting regulation, how do you deploy the energy? We have to be open with this and to avoid to start to fight because we think that we have an advantage on the battery or whatever. This will be the worst-case scenario for the F1. It’s true that we are at the corner with the regulation but if you have a look on the last 25 or 30 years, we never had such a big change in the regulation because it’s the first time that we are having chassis, engine, sporting at the same time.
“It’s a challenge. It’s a challenge for the teams. It’s a challenge for the FIA. Because also consider the FIA has to predict today what will be the level of downforce, what will be the level of drive of the car when we are starting the development. Let us discuss this week. Honestly, the meeting in Bahrain went pretty well. We had an open discussion. The issue is that we are always in a competition together. That means that this is not helping the system. Let’s have a discussion this week and I hope that we will find a good compromise.”
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