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Formula 1 will embark on a new era of power unit regulations in 2026, and Mercedes High Performance Powertrains boss Hywel Thomas explains what to expect.
Everybody is eagerly awaiting the big F1 regulations change that will come in 2026. The biggest change of course, will be completely new power units.
Mercedes High Performance Powertrains Managing Director Hywel Thomas explains what can be expected in 2026.
“2026 is a very different beast,” Thomas said at Silverstone.
“The V6 section is actually very, very similar, although there are some changes in that, the biggest one being fuel flow is going to reduce and the fuel is going to change.
“But the V6 [is] actually not that dissimilar. We are removing the MGU-H, that’s gone, and that was really seen as a blocker for new entrants.
“So by removing that, that removes one of those reasons that new entrants couldn’t come in, so that was an important point.
“The other side of it is the increase in the electrical system, so we’ll have 350 kilowatts [increased from the current 120kw], so making up the difference of the performance that’s lost from the engine because of the fuel reduction being made up by the electrical machines.
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“The regulations allowed us to start running V6s in the middle of last year and that’s very much what we did, and I’m sure we weren’t alone in doing that.
“It’s a big old journey, that’s for sure. There’s going to be a lot of development work, a lot of heartache, but I think we’re all probably starting at the same point because the regulations allow us to do that.”
Thomas also emphasized the battery as an interesting area for develppment.
“I think the battery is definitely an interesting area for potential development in those ’26 regulations.
“What we will be looking at is far more of a power-dense battery, rather than the energy-dense batteries that you see in general EVs.
“I’m sure every company is looking carefully at what they’re going to do with the battery because it’s definitely an area which, if you do a good job of it, will likely lead you to having good lap time,” the Briton concluded.
