Electrical power will be reduced in 350 kW races at 200 kW

At the end of the meeting between the FIA ​​and the manufacturers of power units, held during the weekend of the Bahrain Grand Prix, the engines regulations discussed and approved by the International Federation in 2022 was confirmed. The perspective of an early return to the aspirated engines was parked. In Sakhir, the regulations of power units were also discussed that will enter into force next year, and here the fidelity line was also reaffirmed to the defined regulations long ago.

However, the FIA ​​was allowed a small margin of maneuver, some “small touch -ups” that could be included in the 2026 regulation to reduce or eliminate the risk that takes several months in the paddock, namely that the pilots next year could be forced to raise their foot too much (release the accelerator before the braking point) due to the need to recharge the batteries.

Tomorrow a meeting of the F1 commission is planned in which some of these “lower refinement” measures will be discussed, and the alarms have already jumped among some motion manufacturers that consider that the proposals are anything but refinements.

On the table will be the change in the cast between electric and endothermic energy (currently set to 50-50), one of the basic elements of the new regulations. The greatest concern on the part of the FIA ​​is related to the risk of seeing, especially in some circuits with very long lines, how the cars are slowed down due to the exhaustion of electrical energy and the consequent need to recharge.

A scenario that would not be well received by fans and enthusiasts and that would also cause frustration among the pilots themselves. After intervening with the introduction of active aerodynamics, the FIA ​​has also studied a scheduled management of the use of electricity (the system ‘Turn Down Ramp Rate’) that prevents a single -seater for use the battery charge at the exit of the curves, imposing a progressive consumption curve to favor the thrust in the straight lines. But, apparently, the “uprising” alarm remains active.

Tomorrow another measure will be proposed to act on the 50-50 power distribution. The intention is to introduce a reduction in the electrical power of the 350 kW of the current regulations to 200 kW in the large awards, going from a 50-50 proportion to a 65/35. With less available electrical power, the recharge problem would be solved. According to the rumors that arose during the weekend of Jeddah, there would also be an alternative plan to reduce electrical power only in the circuits in which the “Lithfing” effect is most feared, that is, Jeddah, Monza, Baku and Las Vegas.

Different postures between the different engines suppliers

The game promises to be complicated. There are those who argue that it would be a very significant and of great impact change, that is, a regulatory change that cannot be attributed to the “small touch -ups” that the FIA ​​has allowed. Eliminating 200 kW of career power is not considered a lower refinement, but an important change and, therefore, unacceptable.

In the other front, there are those who have described as unpublished the scenario that would be created, dusting the era of the turbo in which Formula 1 circulated at two speeds, with a much more extreme impulse in classification than the one used then in the race.

Among the different suppliers of power units, the clearest positions are those of Mercedes and Red Bull Powerin. The latter has confirmed very open to change, also appealing to the interest of sport. “The FIA ​​has done its own studies in this regard, I think that what they want desperately to see too Attention two years ago, but we did not insist on including it on this week’s agenda. “

Mercedes’s position is different. “Reading the F1 commission agenda is almost as hilarious as reading some of the comments on X about American politics,” were the words of Toto Wolff. “It looks like a joke, there was a meeting between motor manufacturers fifteen days ago and then things that have already been discussed return to the agenda. We have been using hybrid motors for years, the management of electricity already exists, are we sure that in 2026 everything will be really different? Well, I am not sure, and in the end the rules are the same for all, and that is the fundamental thing.

Audi and Honda do not seem inclined to accept any change, while in the case of Ferrari the position seems to be more in the middle. ‘We have to be transparent at this point and avoid discussing just because we think we have an advantage,’ said Frederic Vasseur, ‘that would be the worst scenario for F1. With the introduction of 50/50, we probably underestimate the consequences it would have on the weight of the car and its performance. “

“In the last 25 or 30 years we had never had such a radical change in the regulation,” Vasseur concluded, “it is the first time that we take care of the chassis, the engine, the fuel and also of sports aspects, everything at the same time. It is a challenge for the equipment and also for the FIA, which has to predict today what will be the level of aerodynamic load of the cars of 2026 or how it will be its manageability, and it will be In our projects.