While Formula 1 is committed to making the sport more environmentally friendly, not everyone is too enthusiastic about the direction the sport is heading in. The 2026 spec power units will split the output 50:50 between Internal Combustion Engines and electric power, and Red Bull was the first team to raise serious concerns about what that could mean for on-track action. Max Verstappen also stated that the data they have seen on the simulator looks terrible. Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has also jumped on the bandwagon, cautioning Formula 1 against chassis-related fixes.

Due to its complexity and high manufacturing cost, the 2026 spec cars will no longer use the Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H). However, that has a direct impact on the car’s performance on the straights. During their simulator runs, Red Bull noticed that the 2026 spec engines show a significant power drop-off when approaching the end of a long straight. To compensate for this power drop, F1 considers incorporating active front and rear wings into the chassis technical regulations, aiming to minimize drag. However, according to Pierre Wache, this is just a quick fix to what is a much bigger problem with the 2026 regulations.

Wache urges Formula 1 to tackle the real issue instead of half-measure fixes

According to Wache, it is important to understand the problem at a broader level and determine the necessary car characteristics instead of trying to patch the problem without a comprehensive strategy in mind. He says that relying too heavily on aerodynamic devices could jeopardize the pursuit of a targeted 50kg weight reduction for 2026. There have been discussions about shifting from the proposed 50:50 power split to increase the focus on the 1.6-liter turbocharged internal combustion engine.

However, Wache clarified that changing the engine concept is challenging due to the longer design and development times of Power Units compared to chassis components. “The problem is that the design time and the development time of an engine are longer than the chassis,” Autosport quoted Wache. “So, to change the concept of the ICE, the battery and the electrical power starts to be very difficult for them by now.”

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“But the thing is that they didn’t think through the full concept [of the 2026 regulations] at the same time. First, they defined the engine regulations and now we have to cope with that on the chassis side to compensate for the issue we have.“

F1 2026 Engine Updates: Ferrari Conducts First Test, Mercedes Ahead of Competition and Red Bull Face Biggest Challenge.

Since Red Bull has been ahead on the development of the 2026 powertrain (as reported by Christian Horner), they were the first to run simulator tests. Max Verstappen was particularly not happy with the dynamics of the car.

What did Max Verstappen notice during the simulator runs?

According to a Reuters report from July 2023, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner revealed that their accelerated progress in developing their 2026 engine has raised a few potential issues. Horner said that the fastest way around the track might require drivers to downshift on straights to recharge the batteries.

Max Verstappen expressed the need to solve these issues quickly as 2026 is just around the corner. Verstappen echoed Horner’s assessment that Red Bull is ahead of schedule and hinted that other drivers might not be fully aware of the emerging issues.

According to Verstappen, “If you go flat-out on the straight at Monza… like 400 or 500 [meters] before the end of the straight, you have to downshift flat-out because that’s faster. I think that’s not the way forward. We have to seriously look at this because I mean, 2026 is not that far away. And at the moment, to me, it looks very bad from all the numbers and what I see from the data already.“

Will the active suspension be able to compensate for the loss of power on straights by reducing drag? We will only find that out with time. But in the meantime, the concerns raised by Max Verstappen and Red Bull do seem to pose a legitimate problem for racing dynamics. What are your thoughts on the matter? Share with us down below in the comments.

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