This time it seems that Scuderia Ferrari is ready to finally use its veto right. The Italian side has not yet officially signed up to be among the engine manufacturers who commit to taking part in the 2026 Formula 1 season after the new rules and engine regulation was announced a months ago. The FIA has extended the deadline: entries for power unit suppliers planning to race in Formula 1 under the 2026 regulations closes on 15 November.
Ferrari does not like the idea that Red Bull Powertrains wants to be considered a new power unit manufacturer and, therefore, wants to take advantage of a series of benefits which are given to new entrants, for example Audi.
For the moment there are three engine manufacturers who have signed up for 2026: Mercedes, Audi and, of course, Red Bull Powertrains. Team principal Christian Horner admitted that he signed the agreement, even if Ferrari may try to get in the way, as this time the Maranello team is showing its intention to finally use its political power.
Scuderia Ferrari feels that a structure like Red Bull Powertrains cannot be seen as a new engine manufacturer, given that the Milton Keynes side is basically the same as the one created from the collaboration with Honda and the inevitable technical transfer would make it easier for them to develop the engine. The Red Bull department is in fact created around a group of ex-Mercedes engineers who have left the German side to join the ambitious project headed by Christian Horner.
Although the negotiations with the Japanese company to continue the collaboration even beyond the 2025 world championship have not yet been completed, Ferrari fears that the Austrian side could acquire a technical advantage by receiving the benefits of a new entrant (an extra budget and fewer limitations for the development of the power unit on the test bench) and, therefore, wants to get in the way by using right to veto Formula 1 rules, which it has retained as part of the new Concorde Agreement signed in 2021.
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Ferrari has too often been obedient or passive in its political decisions (in Maranello they have already accepted that the 2026 power unit will have an overly simplified internal combustion engine, losing many of the tools that make the current 6-cylinder turbos sophisticated), but this time they seem to have decided to “bang their fists on the table”.
Ferrari is therefore not signing for the moment, while Renault is ready to do so and Porsche and Honda who have expressed interest have been invited to take a position, while also thinking of joining Formula 1 starting from 2027, the second year of the new regulation.
How will FIA and FOM react? The Scuderia’s discontent goes beyond a few disagreements and, after the experience with the first report of the 2021 budget cap, when Red Bull having exceeded the spending limits, Ferrari wants precise guarantees of fairness, without being faced with surprises. At this point it will be interesting to find out how this situation will be solved.
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