Formula One’s new era of engines starting in 2026 has been a complete and utter disaster. The sport’s governing body gave too much power to the manufacturers in deciding on the power unit specifications, and even a last-minute plea in Bahrain nine months prior to their introduction went unheard.
The manufacturers were asked to consider reducing the 50% contribution of the hybrid systems to 40%, but they refused to agree to what will now happen by 2028. The result is the FIA now states they and they alone will decide on the next era of F1 power, with president Mohammed Ben Sulayem demanding a return to V8 power with “very, very little electrification.”
Further, at the British Grand Prix, he floated the idea that the FIA would commission an independent motorsport engineering outfit, like Cosworth, to produce an engine for the current ‘customer teams’ which does not mean they are tied to a manufacturing rival.
The Flawed Reality of the 2026 Regulations
Yet one of the biggest farces of the entire project has not been the silly yo-yo racing, the dangerous closing speeds, and the ludicrous overtakes when a car runs out of battery power. It is the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) which, again, the manufacturers insisted be based solely on the internal combustion engine.
The FIA’s day-to-day head of F1, Nikolas Tombazis, revealed earlier this season that he had proposed a more complex methodology of measuring the relative power deficits on the all-new engines.
“We had approximately, I would say, in the spring of 2025, quite long discussions with them [the manufacturers]. We offered whether we wanted to consider certain things like the turbo pressures, or the turbo diameters, or the operating of the plenum temperature, for example, and such like,” he claimed.
“The universal position by the PU manufacturers back then was that we should keep it simple. So the fact that it is the current horsepower measurement of the internal combustion has been appreciated right from the start.”
The Shock Ruling Triggering Paddock Outrage
Despite Mercedes winning all but two Grands Prix and the Miami Sprint, to everyone’s shock it was deemed that newcomers to building F1 engines—Red Bull—have the most powerful internal combustion engine. First up, shame on the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari for seeing a startup company deliver a better ICE than they have been manufacturing for almost a century—and secondly, the composite package of the Red Bull ICE and the hybrid systems is clearly not the class of the field.
So Mercedes, under the ADUO rules, are now allowed one upgrade and Ferrari and the others two, whilst Red Bull are stuck with their engine design until one of the others leaps 2% ahead of theirs in terms of ICE power. Mercedes have predictably decided they have no place to upgrade their power unit, which locks in the alleged Red Bull advantage for longer.
Having won ten of the thirteen races to date this season, Mercedes clearly feel they have no need to upgrade their power unit and can prevent Red Bull for some time to come from upgrading theirs as a result.
Red Bull Fights Back Over Handcuffed Engine
Red Bull have challenged the FIA to share the data which has determined the pecking order in terms of the relative deficits in power from the internal combustion engines. Meanwhile, Ferrari have already upgraded their internal combustion engine and came out on top one race later at the British Grand Prix.
Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies has confirmed that ongoing discussions with the FIA are tracking forward, following the controversial ruling that ranked the team’s engine as the absolute grid-leader in Formula 1. The team has pushed back strongly against the assessment, with Mekies previously making their position clear.
“We do not see one single data sample where we estimate ourselves higher than the competition, let alone being consistently above them.” With Red Bull fearing “large implications” if the decision stands, the FIA agreed to launch an official review into its initial findings.
Offering an update on the situation in Austria, Mekies told assembled media, “We are exchanging data with the FIA. So it’s progressing in the way that we have had a chance to, to exchange a bit more [data] compared to last time, in terms of methodologies and, and potential discrepancies.”
He added: “It’s fair to say that we’ll have a, we’ll have a catch-up next week outside of the race weekend to sit down and have a chance to look at the same set of data together.”
The Summer Break Survival Test
The off-track political battle comes during a challenging stretch on the circuit for the team. Red Bull endured a brutal weekend at Silverstone; Max Verstappen was heavily in contention for a podium finish until a late-stage rear wing failure caused a race-ending crash.
As F1 heads into a back-to-back double-header in Belgium and Hungary before the summer break, Mekies emphasized the urgency for a proper analysis of the performance steps. However, he admitted that the power-sensitive, energy-demanding nature of Spa-Francorchamps will put their current package to the test.
“It’s still the first year with our PU, the team is going to get around this sort of energy-starved track,” Mekies explained. “There may be hardware limitations, but I equally know that the team is extraordinary at turning [things around] fast.”
Looking ahead to the Belgian Grand Prix, he concluded: “I hope we will be in a slightly better shape in Spa, but you are right in saying that, from a characteristic perspective, it should be quite similar to here.”
Spa is one of the most energy-starved circuits on the calendar for the hybrid units, with only Monza expected to be worse. There will inevitably be far more yo-yo racing and cars slowing drastically halfway along the Kemmel straight when their batteries are depleted. And Mercedes, with their superior battery deployment capabilities, look strong favourites to win again.
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The Judge, a nom de plume of an experienced F1 journalist and site founder with long-standing sources across the paddock. 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.
