Ferrari has interestingly agreed with concerns raised by Red Bull, regarding the upcoming 2026 engine regulations.
2026 will see an overhaul of the power unit regulations, with a 50/50 split between internal combustion and electrical power output having been signed off by Formula 1 last August.
However, Red Bull boss Christian Horner has admitted that a 50/50 split might not have been the right decision, following concerns that the cars won’t be able to run at full power for an entire lap.
Horner has revealed that the 50/50 split in power output will result in drivers downshifting down straights, in an attempt to regenerate energy.
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As a result, the Briton is worried that F1 will lose its “wheel-to-wheel racing” when the new regs are introduced.
“F1 needs to be wheel-to-wheel racing. We can’t afford to lose that challenge and have drivers downshifting on the straights to regenerate batteries,” explained Horner.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff doesn’t see any chance of this happening though, with the Austrian stating: “That’s not going to happen, zero chance, capital letters.”
Wolff and Horner have once again been entangled in a war of words following the latter’s comments, with Wolff believing that it’s Horner’s way of trying to get the rules changed to suit Red Bull.
The Mercedes boss believes Horner is “frightened” of Red Bull not producing a good power unit, given that in 2026 they’ll be producing their own engines.
The Austrian essentially thinks Horner is pushing for tweaks to be made to the new regs to suit Red Bull, something the Briton has categorically denied.
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Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has actually jumped to Horner’s defence, with the Frenchman having insisted that if the 2026 simulations prove that the Red Bull boss is correct, then the sport will need to “change something”.
“First, I think the most important is to agree on what could be the speed trace [an accurate simulation of 2026 performance],” Vasseur told The Race.
“Then if we worry about the fact that we would have to lift off early or to so-and-so – to change something marginally we can change something.”