Mercedes boss admits Horner was right about “Frankenstein” 2026 cars – Formula One is heading into the unknown with the biggest set of regulation changes in the history of the sport coming in 2026. Both power units and chassis will have radical all new design specifications, something never attempted simultaneously before.
The power units are the result of a tortuous process first started with the launch of an FIA working party back in 2017. Almost a decade finally yet esport has a new era of power around the corner, through not everyone is waiting with baited breath.
With the likes of Porsche and Audi pressing hard for an increase in the electrical component of the power unit. The FIA took the extraordinary decision to up the electrical power by some 300% from its current contribution to total power output.
Horner queries new rules two years ago
Early Red Bull Powertrains simulations suggested at a number of circuits where the braking element is relatively light, the new power trains would not be able to produce the 50% electrical power output by regeneration methods alone.
This led to Christian Horner famously describing the new power units coming down the line as “Frankenstein’s monsters” as he questioned whether drivers would be changing gear unnecessarily along a straight, merely for the internal combustion engine to produce the required electrical charge.
Horner was mocked by Toto Wolff, who claimed this was a distraction created by the then Red Bull boss to cover for the fact the new Red Bull Powertrains programme was not fairing well.
“I think what frightens him [Horner] more maybe is that his engine programme is not coming along and maybe he wants to kill it that way,” Wolff said told the Race. “You always have to question what is the real motivation to say something like that.”
2026: A “completely new soundscape”
Yet Toto Wolff and his Mercedes AMG F1 team are customers of Mercedes HPP which are based on a different campus. Wolff owns a share of the Racing team based in Brackley, but HPP is operated under the auspices of Mercedes Benz, the auto manufacturer. This was something Christian Horner noted.
The Red Bull boss was suggesting there be a small reduction in the mount of electrical power specified, by just 5 or even 10 percent. Earlier this season, there was a crisis meeting held in Bahrain as concerns were once again raised about the new power units.
The FIA offered the teams the options of retaining the current engine specifications until new ones could be agreed for 2028/29. Yet this would have required all but one of there powertrain manufacturers to agree, which clearly did not happen.
Now Mercedes HPP boss Hywel Thomas speaks about their powertrain for the first time, observing the fans will need to adjust to a “completely new soundscape.” The new units will not have the current MGU-H which converts wasted heat into power and this will improve the level of noise from the V6 turbo’s. Yet it appears Christian Horner’s predictions from some two years ago have come true, despite him being ridiculed at the time.
Combustion engine acting as a generator
“Normally, the engines run at low revs when braking and cornering,” Thomas explained. “In the future, the revs and thus the noise level will increase noticeably, even though the cars aren’t actually accelerating,” says Thomas.
The reason is that the new power units are forced to create electricity beyond what is capable through the recovery systems and braking. As a workaround the teams have been forced into the “Frankenstein” workaround, where fuel is burned merely to create electricity.
“We had to come up with something,” Thomas continues. “The engine switches to full-throttle mode when braking and cornering to produce additional energy, which we feed directly into the battery. So, for parts of a lap, the engine acts as a generator,” exactly as Horner predicted.
Whilst no team have released a bench tested simulation sound track of their new power unit, watching F1 cars with screaming engines whilst slowing down will certainly be a confusing proposition. Thomas warns against expectations of a return to the screaming V8 sound, even with the removal of the MGU-H.
Will new powertrains be louder?
“The sound will only change slightly,” he said. “This isn’t necessarily due to the removal of the MGU-H, but rather due to the changes to the turbo. The backpressure is reduced because the turbo doesn’t have to drive the electric motor. This results in a slightly louder sound.”
“But on the other hand, only three-quarters of the amount of fuel that goes into the engine is available. On the test bench, we observed a similar noise level as before.”
Given the all new powertrains coming on stream, the FIA has extended the usual three day pre-season testing. There will now be five days of testing in Barcelona at the end of January, before two three day tests in Bahrain. Concerned about how exactly the new power units will perform, F1’s CEO has insisted F1 will not return to the days of 2014, when one power train dominates the field.
Ferrari’s secret weapon revealed
F1 CEO promises swift changes if necessary
“Nothing prevents us from working to improve the package,” Domenicali said. “The FIA, together with the manufacturers and teams, can always assess if there are areas for improvement.
“We’re on the brink of a major regulatory shift, and I personally believe it’s crucial that the system allows for a faster recovery if a manufacturer falls behind significantly. That’s an issue we must address quickly – it could happen to anyone.”
There appears little love from the fans and a number of the teams for the new 2026 powertrains which could be replaced as early is in 2029. Both the FIA president and F1’s CEO have agreed a return to less costly and simpler racing engines is the way to go in the future. For so long the power of the manufacturers has dominated the way F1 has developed, but with simpler V8 engines, the way would be open for the likes of Cosworth and other specialist engine builders to again be involved in F1.
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Formula One may well be in boom times now but its not always been the case. Back in 2009 Honda, Toyota and BMW all walked from the sport leaving a huge hole in the grid and dangerously few power unit manufacturers.
Further, three new teams were introduced in 2010 to bolster the grid, but by the time Haas F1 joined the sport, they had all become defunct, leaving the lineup again with just twenty drivers.
At the beginning of this tumultuous era, the owner of the Minardi team decided enough was enough. The then F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone pleaded with energy drinks magnate Didi Mateschitz to save the team, which he did and so was born Toro Rosso – the second Red Bull owned team…. READ MORE
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Surely this shows that CH has more understanding of HOW these cars operate than TW. After all, TW simply has not been a TECHNICAL asset, has he?! He’s a money/asset man