Horner offers his opinion regarding the 2026 power units
Ahead of the introduction of the all-new power unit regulation for the 2026, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner explained that "the amount of harvesting" will lead to an unwished amount of the lift-and-coast during certain races.
The following season will see Formula One introduce a new power unit. The new construction is expected to continue to produce over 1,000 bhp (750 kW), although the power will come from different sources.
The new power unit will include a turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 internal combustion engine configuration which will be very similar to what has been used since 2014. However, the power output of the internal combustion part of the power unit will decrease to 540 bhp from 850 bhp.
While the Motor Generator Unit – Heat will be banned, the Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic output will increase to 470 bhp (350 kW) from 160 bhp (120 kW).
In addition, fuel flow rates will be measured and limited based on energy, rather than mass of the fuel itself. The power units will use a fully sustainable fuel being developed by Formula One.[82][83] The power units are expected to recover twice as much electrical energy as before.
Although the new power unit regulation are set to arrive in less than a year, the sport is currently discussing concerns that the drivers would run out of battery on power-sensitive circuits with long straights, forcing the drivers to "lift and coast" before the braking zone.
Explaining his concerns ahead of the arrival of the new power units, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: "The regulations are fixed for next year, and that’s what everybody has designed and developed their engines to.
"The biggest concern is one that is not new – it’s one that’s been flagged from two years ago by all the PUMs is the amount of harvesting there is and inevitably the chassis designers will inevitably outperform the criteria of the regulations, and a consequence of that will be the amount of lift-and-coast that there will be in a Grand Prix.
As the aerodynamic regulation is set to support fuel-saving through constant drag reduction, there are also concerns that it will be very difficult for drivers to complete an overtaking.
"You also have to remember that under the 2026 regs, the car is effectively constantly in DRS mode. As soon as you enter the straight, the wing opens. So, there’ll be no passing mechanism. The FIA have raised this topic that was looked at a little while ago again by the PUMs.
"If it’s genuinely in the interest of the sport and racing, not to have all this lifting and coasting, then I think it’s something that warrants looking at. It doesn’t change the spec or output of the engine. It’s just the amount of battery deployment maybe at certain Grands Prix," Horner concluded.
