2026 engine regulations needed to attract manufacturers: 'Important point'
In 2026, Formula 1 will switch to new engine regulations. The current V6 engines have been in force in F1 since 2014, but soon that will change. Hywel Thomas, managing director of the Mercedes engine division, says it was very important that the new regulations attract more manufacturers.
Six engine manufacturers are signed up for 2026, two more than the current four. Honda and Audi will be new in 2026 and Red Bull will team up with Ford from then on. A key difference with the new engines is that the MGU-H will disappear. The MGU-H converts heat from the turbocharger into energy for the battery. This bothered many teams at the start of the turbo-hybrid era.
Mercedes finds new manufacturers important
The new regulations are somewhat "simpler" than the old ones and therefore more interesting for new manufacturers. "2026 is a very different beast. The V6 section is actually very similar, although there are some changes in that, the biggest one being fuel flow is going to reduce and the fuel is going to change. We are removing the MGU-H, that's gone, and that was really seen as a blocker for new entrants. So by removing that, that sort of removed one of those reasons that new entrants couldn't come in, so that was an important point. The other side of it is the increase in the electrical system. So we're talking about 120-kilowatt MGU-K here, and we'll have a 350 kilowatt," said Thomas.
It's propaganda from Mercedes, like they would like to see new entrants and lose customers.
The most important is actually that nobody would have an edge over the others, and it would not be an engine championship, like Mercedes used to have with 2014 rules with engine they had developed few years before others started. It could be same thing now with 2026 rules, why else lie like that.
The rules state that all power unit manufactures make their units available to other teams. The price is fixed on engine cost and none of them make money providing engines to others. It may actually save money only producing power units to themselves.
I don't think it is like this. I don't see Mercedes supplying engines to RedBull, even if RedBull would want.
