F1 Authority Expects Sport's Downfall As Regulations Set To Change Once Again
Mercedes was quick to respond to the engine changes when turbocharged power units were re-introduced in 2014. They got everything so well the first time that they dominated the grid for quite a while.
The other suppliers meanwhile went through multiple trial and error phases over the years to produce engines that churn out similar performance figures as Mercedes. Now that they're almost at par with each other, the Chief Technology Officer of Red Bull Racing says things are about to change once again in 2026.
Whenever new power unit regulations come into effect, it is the same as starting from scratch for the suppliers from an engine point of view. This gives rise to a technological race among the suppliers where some gain dominance while others catch up slowly.
Newey warns that the 2026 power unit regulations could once again disrupt the natural flow of events. He told Sky Italia:
“When the hybrid regulations first came in, there were huge differences. Mercedes did a fantastic job with their power unit and others were varying levels behind."
“Now it’s closed up so I would say there’s maybe two or three per cent in the power difference, which is 0.2 to 0.3s difference perhaps, which when the grid is so tight, is still a big number. But it’s not like the one second when the regulations came out."
"The big risk now is another power unit shake-up in 2026, there could be a gap for a while. If there’s a big gap in power units, it takes time for the manufacturers to understand and close it, whereas chassis people can have a quicker reaction time.”
Commenting on the 2026 changes pertaining to the chassis and the power unit, Newey told on the Talking Podcast:
“On the chassis side, not so much,”
“On the engine side? Yes, absolutely. So Ben Hodgkinson (technical director at Red Bull Powertrains) and the RB Powertrains team, their sole focus is the ’26 engine."
“On the chassis side, for the ’26 engine, we’re looking at how that packages. So Rob Marshall, is kind of the guy that’s really looking after us and he’s doing a great job, looking forward at how we integrate all that."
But other than that, we don’t have a proper set of ergonomic regulations or anything else yet to go on so there’s no point in us spending too much time on that until we have a much more defined set of regulations.”
After the departure of Honda, Red Bull Established Red Bull Powertrains in 2021- their own in-house power unit project. While they continue to receive assistance from Honda, that changes in 2026 when Honda will partner with Aston Martin.