Nikolas Tombazis reckons the new F1 regulations with Cost Cap for power unit manufacturers will resolve the issue of teams trying to use extra engines for performance.
The 2025 F1 season saw Red Bull use an extra power unit for Max Verstappen in the latter stages of the year which helped the Dutchman with extra boost in terms of using a fresh set of engine. As such there is no huge advantage in current formula due to restrictions.
But in a close battle, it still gives some advantage. McLaren raised questions on such practice, that how it isn’t under the Cost Cap purview. FIA single-seater director Tombazis agreed on the loophole in the previous set of F1 regulations, which allowed such practice without any financial strain.
But Tombazis stressed that it will be resolved automatically in the current era of regulations that kicks in from 2026 F1 season onward. He notes that the Cost Cap for power unit manufacturers’ will eventually discourage teams in using extra engines until there is absolute need for it.
Tombazis also stated that the FIA chose not to get into involved in it and left it on automatic resolution from 2026 onward. “What we’ve not been keen to get involved in, as the FIA, is a situation where when there’s an engine change, we have to argue with the team or the PU manufacturer whether a bit of telemetry indicates potentially a reliability issue or not,” he said.
“We don’t feel we have the expertise to argue with them whether it’s really a reliability or strategic change. And, again, in some cases it’s obviously in one or the other camp. But when you’re in that crossover area, it would be difficult. So this has been a weakness in the last set of regulations — the combination of Financial plus Technical and Sporting — and it’s been an area where we adopted this approach where we accept these changes without getting into discussion about the impact on the cost cap.
“However, it has been one of the areas where in 2026, with the cost cap for the PU manufacturers as well as the teams, this matter is resolved, because the PU manufacturers would never find it convenient to make a strategic change, because each time it’s going to cost them approximately the cost of an engine — a million, if it’s just the internal combustion or whatever.
“And that will provide a natural mechanism. So we think it’s a weakness in the previous set of regulations, where there’s no PU cost cap, but we think it gets resolved completely from this year onward. It will stop being a topic of discussion,” summed up Tombazis.
Here’s teams’ tier system
Here’s drivers’ tier system
Here’s Nikolas Tombazis on F1 2026 regs
