The road towards the debut of the new generation of Formula 1 power units which will be introduced in the 2026 championship continues. The FIA and teams have worked to update the technical regulations, addressing many of the concerns that have worried the engine manufacturers in the past year. The fear was that drivers would be forced to slow down and shift gears on the straight, creating counterintuitive race dynamics. Organizers have therefore drafted regulations to regulate the use of the electric part and fuel consumption to recharge the battery, also introducing an overtaking mode.
Explosive acceleration
One of the big changes for the upcoming Formula 1 single-seaters concerns the power of the electric motor, which will triple to reach 350 kW, equivalent to 480 horsepower. Contrary to the internal combustion engine, the electric unit is capable of providing maximum thrust immediately, something the FIA aims to showcase for cars less effective at high speeds but quicker in acceleration. To enhance this specific characteristic, the regulations now include the obligation to deliver at least 200 kilowatt from the electric part (which is about 275 horsepower) for the first second after the driver pushes the accelerator pedal to the floor.
Furthermore, the Federation wants to focus the use of electric power at low speeds, therefore avoiding draining the battery and forcing power units into continuous recharging. Initially, it would have been possible to squeeze out all 350 kilowatt of electric power up to 300 kilometers per hour, then gradually reduce it to a minimum value of 150 kilowatt from 340 kilometers per hour onwards. In the new version of the regulations, however, the phase of maximum thrust of the hybrid part ends already at 280 kilometers per hour, then decreasing and completely zeroing beyond 345 kilometers per hour. The new single-seaters will thus enjoy lower power at the end of the straight, likely reaching lower top speeds, but concentrating electric power during thrust phases to achieve greater acceleration.
Overtaking mode
An exception to what is described is a mode defined as “override,” which extends the phase of maximum power from the electric part up to 335 kilometers per hour. The use of this particular mapping should be defined in the sporting regulations, which are currently still absent. It is also not clear whether it coincides with the overtaking mode mentioned in article 5.14.7 of the new Formula 1 technical regulations. Overtaking maps are already present on current power units and are freely exploitable by teams, but with limited gains. If the new “override” mode were usable during the attack phase instead, at 300 kilometers per hour it would provide almost 70 extra horsepower from the electric part compared to normal conditions, rising to 200 extra horsepower at 320 .
Limited energy
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To limit the deceleration of cars at the end of the straight, the new regulations introduce constraints on battery charging, limiting recoverable electric energy to 8.5 megaJoule per lap, while the initially set ceiling was 9 megaJoule. The limit will further decrease to 8 megaJoule on tracks with few braking zones and phases of driving with partial throttle, such as the high-speed circuits of Monza or Silverstone. The main target is to limit the exploitation of the internal combustion engine to recharge the battery, which would lead to sacrificing maximum thrust and losing speed on the straight. Additionally, at the discretion of the FIA, under specific conditions, it will be possible to recover an extra 0.5 megaJoule of energy per lap, which are not yet specified. It is possible that this will be allowed on more twisty circuits with abundant braking, such as Monaco or Marina Bay Street Circuit, where there won’t be a particular need to recharge the battery on the straight.
Charging modes
On tracks dominated by long straights, such as Monza, Baku, or Las Vegas, teams will not be allowed to cut too much power to save energy, a scenario that would cause cars to lose speed and shift gears. In particular, the power unit cannot lose more than 100 kilowatt – 140 horsepower- for each second spent with the throttle wide open. Additionally, on faster circuits, where each lap is spent at full throttle for over 3 and a half kilometers, the power loss will be further limited to 70 horsepower per second. If this limit had already been in effect this season, it would have been valid for all tracks encountered since the beginning of the Formula 1 championship.
In any case, under full throttle conditions, teams cannot collectively cut more than 620 horsepower to save energy. Furthermore, to prevent excessive fuel burning for electric energy regeneration, the charging power on the straight will be limited to 100 kilowatt, compared to the theoretically possible 350 kilowatt.
Now let’s focus on the role of the internal combustion engine for the new generation of engines. The new regulations maintain the limit on the flow of injectable fuel into the engine at full throttle, expressed in terms of energy and set at 3000 megaJoule per hour. However, the new version also adds a limit for phases when the driver drives with partial throttle. The main target is to prevent burning too much excess fuel to recharge the battery even without giving full throttle, avoiding a situation where the engine emits a sound as if at full throttle when the driver partially throttles.
Therefore, teams can inject the maximum fuel limit only when the driver demands at least 60% of maximum thrust from the throttle. It is also worth noting the addition of an article specifying that the internal combustion engine must be able to satisfy the minimum torque request solely through the pedal, without being able to rely entirely on the electric part for corner exit phases.
The Federation will monitor compliance with the injected fuel limits through flow meters, which will be reduced from two to one per car from 2026. Instead, a control via lambda probes in the exhaust terminals is added, allowing the FIA to analyze gases to monitor how the engine operates with rich or lean mixtures. This is an additional check to verify the amount of fuel burned in the cylinders and, in general, the exploitation of the power unit.
Last but not least, the new version of the technical regulations specifies that the traction battery can only be made through electrochemical cells, including traditional lithium-ion cells. This bans supercapacitors, a technology that would have allowed for storing little energy but delivering burning power peaks at the cost of reduced weight and size. It is possible that the FIA simply preferred to close a possible gray area, but the history of Formula 1 recalls how changes to regulations sometimes arise to thwart projects being developed behind the scenes.
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