The next generation Formula One power units due to arrive in 2026 will seem familiar yet in many respects very different. At the time of writing, details of the regulations were awaited but an overall strategy had been agreed upon and it is instructive to consider that.
In 2026, Formula One will continue to use hybrids marrying IC and electric engines, with the electrical element’s contribution increased from a maximum permitted power of 120 kW (161 bhp) to 350 kW. The current IC engines produce in the region of 800-850 bhp with total output nudging 1000 bhp. It is likely that total output will be capped around that 1000 bhp level, consequently the output of the new IC engines will be slashed, perhaps to a little over half of the current figure.
That is consistent with the concept of increasing the electrical proportion of total output – in the past there has been talk by those close to the Formula One rule makers of progressing to a 50-50 split. Mind you, for what proportion of a race lap the electrical output will be available depends a lot on the evolution of electrical storage technology over the next four years. Regen is the other factor, yet the concept of front-wheel harvesting seems to have been quietly dropped.
Surprisingly, a reduced IC output requirement hasn’t prompted a switch from 1.6 litre V6s to V4s or even 800 cc I3s, despite the fact it is intended that the 2026 cars will be lighter. The minimum weight for 2022 is 792 kg, precisely 150 kg more than for the last V8 cars of 2013. That is a function of the weight implicit in a complex hybrid system, in additional safety measures and in the overall size of the car (wheelbase, track and wheel sizes, which this year is up from 15 to 18 in).
It is expected that the 2026 cars, while retaining a 1.6 litre V6, will be more compact to help save weight, although the battery requirement to meet the hike in electrical output might be expected to counter weight improvement by means of chassis downsizing. The MGU-H will be dropped, in itself not saving much weight from the electrical system and putting more emphasis on the power and thus the size and weight of the battery.
On top of that, it is intended that the 2026 V6s will run to higher rpm to improve the aural experience of Formula One. Current regulations allow the V6s to run to 15,000 rpm, but around 12,000 rpm is more typically used, with boost beneficially offsetting the unexploited speed potential given the fuel ration. A lower output requirement together with higher engine speed mean that the 2026 V6s might perhaps be naturally aspirated. Alas, that would not help Formula One's environmental credentials.
Those credentials will be helped by the 2026 engines running on sustainable fuel. There will also be the introduction of a power unit cost cap for 2026, when the FIA hopes to attract new manufacturers into Formula One following the freeze of current power units from this year. The 2026 rules framework has been devised in in conjunction with the existing power unit manufactures and representatives of potential new entrants, including members of the Volkswagen Group.
It is thought that the complexity of the current MGU-H system was a stumbling block to Volkswagen brands Porsche and Audi, even though the former used an exhaust energy recovery system in its 2015, 2016 and 2017 Le Mans-winning 919 Hybrid. However, there is no doubt that the more complex way in which Formula One currently harvests energy from the exhaust flow and deploys it does make the power unit development process far more challenging.
Hybrid system simplification, higher electrical power, the use of sustainable fuel and the power unit cost cap are all understood to tick Porsche’s boxes for a potential Formula One entry in 2026. While advanced technology was a characteristic of its 919 Hybrid it is notable that Porsche is re-entering Prototype racing next season via the IMSA GTP route, a formula (previously dubbed LMDh) dominated by cost containment. Significantly, GTP already has the support of five manufacturers – Porsche, Audi, BMW, Acura and Cadillac – as Prototype racing reinvents itself.
GTP will be performance balanced against Hypercar, which will be headlined by Toyota, Peugeot and Ferrari. The evidence of Prototype racing’s amazing rebirth is that manufacturers crave high profile for low cost rather than an opportunity to use racing for serious r&d. These days, image trumps technical exploration. It is the right image that Formula One wants to offer in 2026, and that perhaps is the reason for retaining an unnecessary number of cylinders.
But image in the eyes of the wider society is a more significant concern given the current level of eco-awareness. That much was made clear by Pat Symonds during December’s Epartrade Race Industry Week. Symonds is the chief technical officer for the Liberty Media-owned Formula One Group, which means he works for the commercial rights holder, not the FIA, which is the regulator. However, he and colleagues work closely with the FIA to help them generate regulations for Formula One that will be in the interest of both parties.
Right now, the wider society’s impression of Formula One is a major consideration to them both. Symonds said that he and his colleagues have a “strap line” that “no-one should be ashamed of being a Formula One fan. And over the next few years we need to take action to ensure that remains the case.
“I can envisage a time when, for example, we’re racing in Singapore and we’re the only internal combustion-engined cars in that city, because everything else will be electric. So we have to show we are doing the right things. I think the day we have some sort of demonstration on the starting grid from the likes of [UK ‘green’ pressure group] Extinction Rebellion, the day that happens is too late. We’ve missed the boat. We have to pre-empt it.”
Symonds acknowledged that the power densities associated with the light mobility sector’s relentless move to electrification are incompatible with the performance requirements of Formula One. Nevertheless, he pointed out that Formula One has already accumulated valuable knowledge relevant to that sector.
“The electric machines on a Formula One car, its battery technology and power electronics, they are all absolutely state of the art. We have C ratings on our batteries – which is effectively a way of thinking of how fast you can charge your battery – that are way beyond anything on a roadcar. A few years ago we were all questioning how relevant that was; now, everyone’s saying, yes, we are worried about range, but we’re actually more worried about charging the batteries quickly.
“So a lot of the technology we’ve developed in Formula One… is relevant, and it must remain so.” Symonds also pointed out that development of the electrical side of Formula One’s power units could be pushed by the 2026 regulations in the direction of addressing the issue of the current reliance on unsustainable materials such as rare earths.
What is clear is that the 2026 power units will run on fuel that is genuinely sustainable. As Symonds put it, “2026 is a long way away, but the fact is, we are doing it properly. We are not prepared to accept some sort of greenwashing; we’re not prepared to accept fuels that, on the surface, look as if they’re a green fuel but the reality is that they are anything but.
“So we’re putting a lot of effort into it, working with a lot of partners; we’ve been doing a lot of testing; a lot of modelling.” Symonds admitted that, as such, other forms of motorsport will introduce what they term sustainable fuel before Formula One.
Another challenge is for Formula One to cut its carbon footprint. “We have a carbon footprint of about 250,000 t of CO2 equivalent right now,” remarked Symonds. “Only 0.7% of that actually comes from the Formula One cars, but if we go to a carbon-neutral fuel, while it won’t make a huge impact on our overall footprint, we feel it will demonstrate to the world that there is a way of running internal combustion engines with much lower emissions.”
When it comes to Formula One tailpipe emissions, Symonds is of the opinion that ideally those should be quantified. “Measuring emissions is quite a difficult thing to do,” he said. “We’ve just done a series of single-cylinder tests where we were trying to do it – unsuccessfully. But we have got some more tests going.
“We would like to try and push the manufacturers into a realm where emissions are lower. You can imagine that with the sort of efficiency we have with our engines, they are very, very clean burning, so there isn’t much in the way of particulates. We're tackling CO2 with sustainable fuels, but NOx is a problem, particularly when you run slightly lean like we do.
“You need to get even leaner if you really want to get rid of the NOx, or get the combustion a bit cooler. After-treatment for it is difficult, so there’s still a lot to do; we’re not there yet.”
In terms of power unit efficiency, Symonds remarked that Formula One is very proud of the fact that its current hybrid power units have attained 52% efficiency, whereas a regular roadcar is still in the low 30s. In respect of the 2026 power units, he revealed that he initially set a target of getting to 60% thermal efficiency.
However, he said, “The only way we could do that is if we did co-optimisation of the fuel and the engine. If we’re going to synthetic fuels, they don’t have to be like gasoline. They could be something that pushes some of the boundaries of regular gasoline.”
On the other hand it was felt that the 2026 engines should run on fuel with genuine roadside potential, and that the power units should be less costly. That was one reason for the MGU-H being abandoned.
“The MGU-H has been a great thing for hitting very high efficiencies,” Symonds acknowledged. “But what’s a little unusual about a Formula One engine is that it is at its most efficient at wide-open throttle, full power. For most road engines that’s not the case, they get their best specific fuel consumption somewhere a bit below best torque, for example.”
Symonds said he could envisage something like an 18-wheel truck pounding US highways powered by a scaled-down Formula One power plant running at constant high output and thus fully exploiting the MGU-H. But for regular roadcars the MGU-H is not so relevant, and he said it is for that reason it is going to be scrapped.
“Without the MGU-H we will get a bit more road-relevant. It will drop our efficiency, as will our fuel, because we’re going to bring the fuel much more into one more suitable for roadcars than what we have at the moment. So in 2026, we won’t be hitting mid-50s efficiencies but we will have something that will be very transferable to light vehicles.”