F1 EXPLAINED: How will the F1 power units change in 2026?
New power units, 100 per cent sustainable fuels, super-efficient active aerodynamics: Formula One is accustomed to technical change, but the direction it will take in 2026 is nothing less than revolutionary – very much the lesser trodden path. Aston Martin's Executive Director - Technical Bob Bell explains how the power units will differ from the current technology.
Although there are still ten races to complete this season, teams have already begun their preparing for Formula 1's technical overhaul which will lead to all-new cars in 2026.
The basic architecture of F1's hybrid power was introduced back in 2014. It is a turbocharged 1.6 litre V6 engine, complemented by an exceptionally efficient energy recovery system.
This is split into two parts: the MGU-K (motor-generator unit – kinetic) is similar to the technology used by road-going hybrids, harvesting energy when the car brakes; the MGU-H (motor-generator unit – heat) is powered by the stream of hot exhaust gases, generating electrical energy from the turbocharger when it's not being used to pressurise engine air.
The 2026 regulations simplify F1's power units by doing away with the MGU-H. Its loss is compensated by a much more potent MGU-K. The amount of electrical power that can be generated is rising from 120kW to 350kW, while the amount of energy being recovered under braking will double, to around 8.5 megajoules per lap.
"Historically, when there have been regulation changes between seasons, it's chassis or engine, rarely both. 2026 sees a completely new set of regulations that span both the power unit and the chassis. We haven't really had such a comparable change for a very long time.
"The biggest change in the technical regulations for 2026 is the power unit. The headline figure is that 50 per cent of the power will be generated from the internal combustion engine and 50 per cent from the battery.
"The ratio at the moment is about 80:20. We will be losing the MGU-H which, since its introduction in 2014, has added significant complexity and expense to the current generation of power units," concluded Bell.
In addition, F1 will move away from fossil fuels, with the V6 engine to be powered by a 100 per cent sustainable fuel. F1 has been developing advanced sustainable fuel blends for a number of years, with the current cars powered by an E10 formula – 90 per cent fossil fuel blended with 10 per cent ethanol, produced from agricultural crops.
There are many ways to create advanced fuels, with the fuel suppliers for the various F1 teams working flat out to produce the most powerful blends.
Basically, there are two types of low-carbon liquid fuels: synthetic and biofuel, with both of them sourcing carbon from the atmosphere when they're being developed, effectively recycling it once it is burned by an engine.
Biofuel is processed from organic material such as sugarcane, used cooking oil and sawmill residue. In contrast, the synthetic fuel doesn't affect food production as it chemically synthesises the elements that make fuel: hydrogen and carbon.
The hydrogen is split from water in a process powered by renewable electricity, while the carbon is either captured from the air using emerging technology, extracted from algae, or gleaned from sustainable sources like waste.
