Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey has warned that the current Formula 1 cars are likely to be the “fastest for some time”, with the famous engineer admitting that the cars are set to become “quite a lot slower” in 2026.
2026 will see the next revolutionary change of the sport’s regulations, with the power unit regulations set to be turned upside down.
From 2026 onwards, F1 will use solely sustainable fuels whilst the new power units will also have three times the electrical power of the current engines, marking a significant change.
Despite the changes, the cars will still produce over 1,000 bhp, even though less fuel will be used.
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The new power unit regulations are also set to bring costs down, with that being one of the many reasons why the likes of Audi and Ford are joining the series.
With the sport having an increasing urge to become more sustainable, despite the rapidly growing calendar, the new regulations will be much more favourable for the manufacturers.
This is because the sport will become cheaper in regard to building parts, whilst the engines will also be more efficient.
As good as the new regs will be for the environment and the manufacturers, the sport will likely become slower.
Based on the current regulations being proposed, Newey has warned fans to not become used to the current speed of the cars, with them set to become much slower.
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“It’s all controlled by regulation so if we didn’t have regulations Formula 1 cars would be ridiculous,” Newey told Red Bull’s Talking Bull podcast.
“They would be rocket ships which from a point of safety would of course be a big, big problem.
“And tyre failures because if we were allowed to develop as much downforce as we could, the tyre manufacturers have it hard enough as it is, they just wouldn’t be able to take the load.
“So it is possible that this current generation of Formula 1 cars will be the fastest for some time because the 2026 rules as proposed at the moment [mean] the cards would be quite a lot slower.”