F1 | 2026 engines: power will be managed by pre-established maps

Formula 1 has just kicked off the 2024 season, but behind the scenes it is already active with a view to the future, towards the next generation of cars which will make its debut in two years, inaugurating a new technical cycle. The regulation of the future units has in fact been known for several months, in order to give manufacturers the opportunity to begin the development phase in view of the debut in 2026.

The Power Units of the next regulatory cycle will further enhance the electrical part with a different distribution of power: the energy of the hybrid will rise to around 50% of the total, leading to a significant reduction in the contribution of the thermal part compared to the current units . On paper, they will be Power Units capable of releasing over a thousand horsepower in total, but the matter is much more complex than one might think.

Increasing dependence on electricity means facing other risks. Given that the MGU-H will disappear on the next generation units, the system that currently contributes to powering the MGU-K in addition to the energy that passes through the battery, doubts immediately emerged regarding the possibilities of continuously powering an electric motor that will go from the current 120 kW to 350 kW in 2026. The fear began that we could see riders downshifting a gear in the middle of a straight line in order to regenerate energy.

For this reason, the FIA ​​immediately took action in drafting the regulations, artificially limiting the output of the K motor generator above a certain speed so that the focus was not on the maximum power, but on the ability to distribute the energy in the best way during the race. 'entire tour. In reality, the current Power Units already artificially cut the support of the electrical part above a certain threshold to optimize battery management during the entire session, with that phenomenon better known as derating.

However, if this now depends mainly on the characteristics of the units of each individual manufacturer, starting from 2026 the cut in electric power will be artificially induced above a certain speed set by the Federation itself, in order to save energy to be used in the rest of the circuit. However, it will not be a clear cut, but rather a progressive decrease: the higher the speed, the more the MGU-K support will be reduced, until it is completely deactivated.

In the first regulatory draft the idea was to limit the electrical part above 300 km/h, progressively reducing the power from 350 kW up to a maximum of 150 kW above 340 km/h. Above that threshold, output would not be further modified via regulation, as is the case with current units. In short, with the first draft the MGU-K would have remained active and a possible cut would have depended only on the management system of the PU itself based on the available energy.

On the contrary, with the latest regulatory revision, multiple methods have been introduced that lead to the complete deactivation of the motor generator, making the regulations that define the exploitation of energy during the ride even more complex.

Mercedes F1 W14, engine detail

Standard and override modes

Leafing through the latest draft of the regulations, it emerges that in 2026 there will be 2 different methods of exploitation of the MGU-K: a standard one and a defined “override”. In turn, each mode is made up of multiple profiles of use of the residual charge, established based on the achievement of a certain speed using specific formulas.

Following the formulas established by the Federation, in “standard” mode the pilots will be able to use all the 350 kW allowed by the regulation up to 290 km/h; from then on, however, power will be artificially cut progressively, dropping to an output of 105 kW when the car reaches 339 km/h. A rather specific figure, but which is easily explainable: starting from 340 km/h, another formula will define the exploitation of the remaining energy, which will cut the power more quickly and clearly compared to the previous profile. In fact, when the single-seater reaches 345 km/h, the MGU-K support will be completely deactivated, which will mean that the Power Unit at that moment will only be able to rely on the thermal part.

An exception to what is written is a new mode, known in the regulation as “override”, which extends the power phase in which it is possible to use the maximum power up to 337 km/h. As in the standard mode, even with the override the available kW will continue to decrease progressively above that speed, until it reaches zero when the car reaches 355 km/h. This option therefore leaves greater freedom to the drivers during the duel phase and it is clear that it seems like a sort of attempt to introduce what in other categories is known as “push-to-pass”. For example, at 345 km/h the override mode will guarantee 200 kW (approximately 270hp) more than the standard one.

From an objective problem such as the lack of useful energy to manage such a powerful electric motor during the entire lap, we therefore tried to get around the problem by introducing a new element compared to the past. Already currently, in reality, pilots can get an extra power boost from the hybrid part of the Power Unit by pressing a button, but the news for 2026 is that this aspect will also be regulated.

ERS-K Power Management on PU 2026: note the difference in kW between standard and override mode

Photo by: Gianluca D'Alessandro

However, at the moment this is still a scenario that has not yet been specifically defined: the functioning of the override will in fact be described in a specific section of the sporting regulations which, at the moment, does not yet exist. A first draft should arrive by mid-year.

The interesting aspect is that, in fact, article 5.14.7 of the technical regulation mentions an overtaking method, albeit without going into detail, but it is not yet clear whether it coincides with overriding. In view of the new technical cycle, F1 is also thinking of introducing active aerodynamics on the straights: on this front too the situation is still nebulous, but from what has emerged it will be a system that will only be activated in certain situations. Furthermore, it is good to keep in mind that DRS will not disappear, even if it is revised. The summary is that, for now, it has only been decided how the energy management profiles will work, while the details will be defined in the next regulatory drafts.

Charging rules: there are more constraints

Looking at the latest draft of the regulations, it is clear that the Federation wants to concentrate the exploitation of electric power below a certain speed threshold, avoiding draining the residual charge too soon. In part it is a necessity due precisely to the impossibility of constantly recharging the battery, in part it is due to the fact that the teams, however, tend to exploit a good part of the available energy output to reach the high levels as quickly as possible. speed.

However, the topic of charging has been addressed at multiple levels of the Federation. To avoid overdoing particular tactics to recover a greater quantity of energy, especially on straights, the governing body has revised various elements in the latest regulatory draft. For example, one of the doubts was that, in moments in which the engine did not require certain peak performance, excess petrol could be burned to recharge the battery: this possibility was partially blocked by trying to set recovery limits in certain conditions.

The casing that contains the RB20 battery: from 2026 there will be new restrictions on charging

Picture of: Giorgio Piola

In fact, the regeneration constraints during every single lap have been revised. If initially the ceiling was set at 9 MJ of recoverable energy for each lap, that limit has now dropped to 8.5 MJ. However, there will be special occasions in which the figure will be further reduced. On tracks with poor braking or very fast speeds, it will drop to 8 MJ: “The limit of energy recovered in each lap can be reduced to 8 MJ in those races where the FIA ​​establishes that the maximum quantity of energy recovered per lap under braking or on the accelerator divided is not greater than 8MJ. The races in question and the indications used to establish the maximum quantity of recoverable energy will be reported in the appendices of the technical and sporting regulations”, we read in the updated technical regulations. Once again, this reasoning was designed with a view to avoiding the abuse of particular techniques for regenerating energy.

In reality, article 5.4.10 also includes a further scenario, opposite to the previous one. In particular situations not yet specified, but which realistically will be linked to tracks with a lot of braking, it will be possible to recover an extra 0.5 MJ, with the details to be defined by the Federation itself.

As anticipated by Enrico Gualtieri, head of Ferrari's Power Unit area, the engines for 2026 represent an extremely complex technical challenge, not only from a development point of view, given that the packaging will have to be revised, but also in fuel management and energy.