The latest version of the power unit regulations was updated on June 20th, while discussions are still ongoing regarding the chassis regulations. Engine manufacturers are finalizing experiments with the individual components that make up the 2026 power units, and by the beginning of 2024, they will start assembling the first six-cylinder units. Few are aware that the 350 kW MGU-K will no longer be mounted under the exhaust system. Instead, it will be integrated into the chassis for safety reasons as part of the ERS (Energy Recovery System).
The challenge has begun: engine manufacturers are deeply engaged in the development of the 2026 engines, which aim to achieve 1,000 horsepower with fifty percent of electrical energy and zero-emission fuel. The research phase with single-cylinder engines has long concluded, and those who are ahead have started producing the components that will make up the first six-cylinder engines for testing.
What’s interesting is that the technical regulations for the 2026 power units were published by the FIA in their revised form on June 20th. However, there is still no reference text for the chassis-related regulations, even though some elements of the new power unit must, by regulation, be housed inside the chassis safety cell.
Perhaps unnoticed until now, a significant detail of the 2026 race cars is that the MGU-K will no longer be located under the right-hand bank, as in the current six-cylinder engines. The motor-generator will be required to find its place within a niche in the chassis, close to the battery, which will remain beneath the fuel tank. This placement will also be close to the control electronics (CU-K) and all high-voltage systems, with the goal of making the next-generation Formula 1 cars safer by relocating sensitive components like those of the ERS to more protected areas.
This is a project choice dictated by the FIA, which will require the working groups of the Manufacturers to reconsider the approach to the concept of a power unit. With the abolition of the MGU-H, which will retire at the end of 2025, it will be up to the MGU-K to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy (when it functions as a motor) and vice versa (when it acts as a generator by collecting kinetic energy during release and braking).
The MGU-K will have to produce that estimated 50 percent of electrical power, around 350 kW, which roughly equates to about 480 horsepower. The internal combustion engine (ICE) is estimated to produce around 550 horsepower, for a theoretical peak total of 1,030 horsepower. Naturally, the full power will only be available when both elements of the power unit can deliver maximum energy, but this will only occur at certain points during a lap, not the entire circuit, as the battery responsible for powering the ERS needs to be recharged.
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The separation between the ICE and the MGU-K introduces new challenges: the motor-generator must have a minimum weight of 16 kg and can rotate at a maximum speed of 60,000 RPM, whereas the current solution cannot exceed 50,000 RPM, delivering only 120 kW (equivalent to 163 horsepower). The balance has changed significantly, and a considerably more capable battery will be required. The technologies developed so far will no longer suffice.
One of the pressing issues for reliability will be the transmission of electrical power to the ICE’s driveshaft. For example, Ferrari currently employs a complex epicyclic gearing system on the 066/10, which has caused several headaches in the past. This is a very intricate solution to fine-tune but allows for power transmission with minimal resistance. The “transmission,” as the two shafts will need to be parallel, could be close to the MGU-K, within the chassis niche. In this scenario, the motor-generator will experience a weight increase of 4 kg. Alternatively, it could be located in the base of the six-cylinder engine, which would then add 4 kg to the ICE’s minimum weight of 130 kg, accounting for the connecting system.
As can be easily understood, during the initial development phase of the units on the test bench, it is likely that failures may occur, primarily not in the six-cylinder engine, which will be less extreme than current ones, but in the delicate connection between the MGU-K, which will be required to provide almost double the horsepower and operate at 60,000 RPM, while the internal combustion engine will not exceed the usual 10,500 RPM. It is clear that the “transmission” will be subjected to significant stresses and loads, which could, at least initially, be one of the most frequent causes of breakdowns.
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