Formula One is stepping into the unknown in 2026 with the biggest change in the FIA car and power unit specifications ever. Predictions in the paddock assume Mercedes will build the best new V6 turbo hybrid with its radical uplift in electrical power from 120kw to 350kw.
Yet much of this is based on the fact Mercedes dominated the last time the power units saw such a fundamental change, but a number of things have changed since then which may prove this assumption wrong.
For 2014, the PU manufacturers had an unlimited budget for th research and development with Mercedes reported outspending some of it rivals by a factor of five times. Reports surfaced that Daimler-Benz in Stuttgart underwrote a £1bn fund for the Brixworth Mercedes High Performance Powertrain division.
Ford now involved in all aspects of Red Bull Powertrain
For 2026, the FIA has introduced a cost cap for the power units, removing Mercedes 2014 big advantage. Further, resources are also restricted in terms of the amount of bench testing time available for the manufacturers.
Red Bull are stepping into the unknown as they become the first ever F1 customer team to build their own powertrain. Their partnership with Ford was initially focused on the American giants electrical expertise, but recently their head of motorsport admitted they had been involved in all aspects of the combustion engine as well.
Whether this is a sign of strength, or a desperate measure introduced because Red Bull were behind the eight ball is unknown. The first indication will be seen at the end of January when the teams conduct a private test in Barcelona.
However, as Honda have revealed, the power units only need to be homologated with the FIA in February and the Japanese company has indicated they will do this on the last day possible. This means the final powertrain designs may not be visible in the early tests, with the manufacturers able to collect data and potentially adapt the PU’s architecture.
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2026 F1 cars require a huge amount of “brain space”
However, driver reports suggest the role of the pilot may also become more pivotal given the huge amount of energy management they will need to control on every lap the car is on track.
Having completed his first session in the Williams simulator in the summer, Carlos Sainz revealed the drivers next season will have a hugely increased workload. “Very complicated, it occupies a lot of brain space while you’re driving,” said the Williams driver of 2026 cars.
F1 has said goodbye to the often controversial DRS. It will be replaced with a power boost button which the driver can deploy at any point around the lap – not just in defined zones as was the DRS. Further, the front and rear wings will have a high downforce setting and a low drag configuration, which also will be controlled by the drivers Fromm inside the cockpit.
This produces the downforce required for cornering, but will shed drag along the straights. Then there’s the usual brake balance bias for the driver’s to adjust for each braking zone around the lap, together with the rest of the many controls they have inside the cockpit will need to be performed to perfection whilst driving at speeds approaching 400kph.
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Wolff claims Verstappen will have an advantage
Charles Leclerc described his experience of the 2026 cars in the simulator as “not enjoyable” whilst Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll dismissed the new power units as a “battery science project”.
Mercedes team boss, Toto Wolff believes drivers who enjoy using the simulator and taking part in on line racing will have a significant advantage next season. Wolff tells beyond the Grid podcast: “We will be needing to compensate for a lack of electric power on every single lap, particularly on the ones with long straights. I think what we are seeing now, the strategies, it almost adds like a little chess component.”
Given the drivers will have the freedom to deploy the incremental electrical power wherever they wish, Wolff queries who will be the best prepared for the task ahead. “I think the sim driver generation will be in a good spot here. You look at George and his generation, Max, they work on the simulator and they enjoy that. It’s their generation.
“So, yes, I think whoever loves to be in the virtual world, be it on a rig at home or in a simulator in a factory, is going to have an advantage,” claims the Mercedes chief.
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Red Bull’s PU director says Max is “impressed”
Red Bull’s technical director of the powertrain dividison, Ben Hodgkinson, recently revealed that Max is “impressed” with the team’s 2026 F1 engine programme after driving the simulator and trawling through the data with the engineer.
Yet of course no team has any visibility on the state of the competitions efforts, although some disillusioned Ferrari engineers who have appeared at Audi, suggest the Scuderia are behind the numbers being delivered by the German racing brands programme.
Lewis Hamilton will be relieved the ground effect cars are no more, given they have coincided with his four worst seasons in the sport since their introduction in 2022. Yet the seven times champion who will be 41 come racing next season may suffer again from the new regulations given his views of deriving the simulator.
When asked about Verstappen’s commitment to online competition, Lewis Hamilton stated he was “not really interested in simulated racing” given its difficulty when compared to the real thing. In 2021 the ex-Mercedes driver revealed he had “hardly ever” visited the silver arrows simulator doing just some 20 loops a year inside it.
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Hamilton may be set for further torture in 2026
Earlier in his career, Lewis revealed he did not like the team’s simulator given it made him disorientated and was not a true reflection on what he experienced o track behind the wheel. Yet given the ever reduced amount of testing and now the Grand Prix weekend practice sessions have been shortened to just one hour, an F1 team’s simulator is vital in finding the right setup for the cars.
Ralf Schumacher reported this year his sources at Ferrari revealed Hamilton has used the Scuderia’s simulator sparingly this season. By way of contrast he claims it is Leclerc who is doing much of the world to refine the setup of the SF-25 and is in the simulator “every day.”
Whilst Lewis has driven the Ferrari simulated car fore 2026 and described the feeling as positive, he may have to change the habits of a lifetime and find a way to commit to more time in the virtual world if he’s to be competitive.
The last straw which set Dr Helmut Marko’s Red Bull demise
His personal relationship with the founder of the energy drinks empire, Didi Mateschitz stretches back long before the company considered owning an F1 team. Having retired from motor racing following an injury, the Marko moved into team and driver management in 1989, founding RSM Marko which a decade later became the Red Bull junior team.
The Austrian discovered Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen and was appointed by Mateschitz as and advisor to the Red Bull team which rose from the ashes of the Jaguar F1 programme in 2005. He was part of the winning team which claimed six constructor titles and either F1 driver championships together with 137 Grand Prix victories…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
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