In a sport in constant evolution such as Formula 1, the attention is rarely focused on the present, instead being constantly projected towards the future. If this can be seen in the everyday life of the Circus, it becomes even more evident in the weeks when the action on the track languishes and the discussions converge elsewhere. The delay in the publication of the definitive guidelines for the power units arriving in 2026 is therefore taking center stage in the last weekend of June, resulting in anger from Porsche and Audi. In such a context it is understandable the willingness of the manufacturers at the door to see clearly on a regulation which, although stimulating, leaves many perplexities to the point of soliciting further reflections.
Without going into the merits of all the technical implications of the new engines, it is appropriate to understand what the basic structure will be. The overall power of the power unit will remain around one thousand horsepower, feeding the heat engine with a mixture of bio-components and synthetic gasoline. All this will cause the combustion unit to lose power, offset by an increase in electric traction which will rise from the current 120 to 350 kW, the equivalent of 480 horsepower. The electric power will thus go from 20 to about 50% of the total, but one thing is the proportion with respect to the maximum power, while another thing is how long it will be possible to exploit the thrust of the electric motor.
Simplistically wanting to use the language of road mobility, the Formula 1 hybrid is not and will not be a plug-in, ie the battery will not be recharged from an external socket, but will have to recharge itself while driving. The exploitation of electric power will therefore not depend solely on how large, or rather capable, the battery will be, but on how effectively the energy in motion will be recovered. Precisely in this, the engineering challenge becomes more complicated, since in the power units of 2026 there will be less of an important charging source, the MGU-H, the generator connected to the turbine that regenerated electricity by exploiting the exhaust gases. On the new engines, regeneration will instead be entrusted exclusively to the MGU-K, capable of recharging the battery mainly during braking, opening up to an important problem.
It will be forgiven if concepts already known to most are expressed, but according to the conservation principle, energy is not created from nothing, but can only be converted from one form to another. When the thermal engine accelerates the car, which gains speed, what happens is that the chemical energy inside the fuel is transformed into kinetic energy. What can be done in braking is to avoid that the same kinetic energy of the car is dissipated by the brakesrather, converting it into electrical form through the MGU-K, aka the motor generator, and recharging the battery. In a theoretical and ideal world where every conversion takes place perfectly, the battery could recharge during braking with all the energy expended to accelerate the vehicle. The energy balance would be zero and the car could move using only the fuel necessary for the initial acceleration.
The ideal world, however, collides with the many limits of reality. In the first place, the efficiencies of the electric machines and of the heat engine are such that in the conversion processes there are always not negligible energy dissipations, limiting the possibility of recharging. Not only must the energy needed to accelerate the vehicle be considered, but also the non-recoverable energy spent to maintain its constant speed by overcoming the resistance to motion, above all the aerodynamics, crucial in energy balances. Finally, the current technological limits emerge, above all the “low” regeneration power of 350 kW discussed for the electric motor generator. Even assuming that the battery allowed to reach a regeneration in braking of 600 kW, as will happen in Formula E from next season, much of the braking work would remain the responsibility of the disc system, effectively dissipating energy in the form of heat. Looking trivially at the simulations conducted by Brembo on the eve of the Canadian Grand Prix, it can be seen that in six of the seven braking sections of the Montreal track the peak braking power was greater than 2000 kW. These are reference data as in facing the braking the rider progressively modulates the brake and braking power, but in any case indicative of how much it is unlikely that the power units of 2026 thus defined could achieve a regeneration under braking of more than 20%.
The picture is that of scarce possibilities for energy recovery, difficulties exacerbated by the disappearance in 2026 of an important recharging source such as MGU-H. As already reported on these pages from Alberto Antoninithe risk is that without a radical revision of the other components there will be extensive use of clipping, having to cut the electric power well in advance as there is not enough energy available. This would result in power units capable of delivering for short moments the now known one thousand horses, half of which are electric, but in fact traveling for most of the time at 50 or 75% of maximum power. A possible solution would be to make the power unit work more like a series hybrid, that is to use part of the power of the thermal engine to recharge the battery while running and not only in braking mode by means of the MGU-K. However, such a scenario would increase fuel consumption, without considering how there would be no electric motor power in the recharging instants, since the MGU-K is used as a generator, unless a second electric unit is added.
In this context, Porsche and Audi are waiting to understand not only the architecture of the power units of 2026, but also with which logics they will work. At present, the FIA and Formula 1 are pursuing the development of engines with greater economic and environmental sustainability, however lacking an organic approach as well as an overall vision. In fact, the clear intention is to first define the new power unit and then move on to the rest of the car. It therefore arises spontaneously to ask how it is possible to conceive a hybrid engine for a racing car while ignoring its weight and aerodynamic resistance., fundamental aspects to allow the essential energy balance and efficiency calculations. We discussed the desire to lighten the single-seaters and reduce their overall dimensions, aiming at a more efficient load generation and reducing resistance to motion through the use of active aerodynamics. All this must be quantified and discussed simultaneously with the engine, but at present we are trying to define a power unit without knowing which platform it will work on. The engines of 2026 thus arise from the will as well as from the need to adapt to the times, favoring the search for an increasingly electrified mobility, but in spite of sustainability, the drafting of the new regulations still lacks an organic vision.
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