The Volkswagen Group board is expected to soon decide on the entry of Porsche and Audi into Formula 1 from 2026, but the two manufacturers will have to be active well in advance of that date, first by taking over Red Bull Racing and its affiliate Powertrain, while the four-ring brand should be linked to McLaren which wants to change its current engine supplier (Mercedes).
The arrival of Porsche and Audi in Formula 1 is conditioned by the approval of the technical regulations that will define the 2026 power units with two clear objectives: to reduce costs by up to 50 percent as compared to the current ones and to reduce emissions and push GP engines on the carbon free road with ecological fuels.
Formula 1, therefore, as a useful tool for the automotive industry to indicate an alternative path to the electrical one, which proves to be more complicated than F1 bosses themselves thought in achieving the objectives set for 2030. So many certainties that now seemed set in stone in the name of the ecological transition appear less within reach and the events such as the war in Ukraine are rapidly changing important scenarios.
Having made all these premises, it must be said that the German manufacturers had asked for a specific request in order to enter Formula 1: to remove the MGU-H, that is to say the electric motor generator that collects the energy of the turbo and transforms it into electricity to be stowed into the battery.
Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda have spent mind-boggling amounts to develop this recharging concept which, however, was not reflected in the production cars except on the Mercedes one, the Star Hypercar presented at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show and produced in a limited edition of 275 models, but which has never been seen on the street because deliveries have not yet started five years later.
Porsche and Audi, therefore, have imposed the elimination of the MGU-H for the 2026 power unit, aware that the new units would have had enormously lower research costs, being able to enter F1 with a different technical concept that did not benefit the Manufacturers who already involved in Formula 1.
Obviously Stefano Domenicali, president and CEO of F1, pleaded this cause, because the entry of two such prestigious brands could be the flagship of his management. So far so good, but the resolution of the 2026 power unit regulation by the FIA World Council is late. Why? The reason is quite simple: the Germans have called for a drastic drop in consumption. There is talk of going down to 70-75 kg of fuel against the 110 kg that are now stored in the tanks.
The objective is certainly very challenging and would push research towards thermal engines with extraordinary efficiency (on the bench the current PUs have exceeded 50%) which would literally bring down consumption, but the unsolved question is how to get to have a power unit that can generate almost 1,000 horsepower with 35 kg of fuel in full and without the MGU-H.
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The question is of course very difficult to answer: if you reduce the impact of the internal combustion engine, about 350 kW are missing: a real enormity! Also because it is not yet understood how this gap will have to be reduced. It should not be surprising, therefore, that there has been an abrupt stop on research. A decision will have to be made by June, but the feeling is that they still want to buy time.
One solution could be to increase the range of the batteries: it is certainly feasible, but the main contraindication is the weight that the current F1 cars already fight since they are unable to reach the limit of 798 kg granted by the FIA. If they do not want to see “buses” running on the track, they will have to look for other systems to find the power.
And what if in the end the time saved actually benefited the new engine manufacturers? Are there those who fear that they could use some ideas which go along the lines of the technologies they have already experimented with in other categories, gaining a competitive advantage, as Mercedes had scientifically done before the launch of the hybrid era in 2014?
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