The power unit regulation changes that aggravated Toto Wolff at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix reportedly generated significant debate at the latest F1 Commission meeting. The Mercedes team principal is strongly opposed to making any substantial alterations to the new engines so close to the 2026 season.
Under the current planned regulations, there will be a 50-50 power split with the new generation of cars harnessing their speed from the internal combustion engine and the battery. However, at the latest F1 Commission meeting, held ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, the teams debated limiting the battery power usage to just 200kw in races to avoid cars running out of power midway through straights. In qualifying, the full 350kw allocation would be available.
“Reading the agenda of the F1 commission is almost as hilarious as reading some of the comments that I see on Twitter on American politics,” Wolff said in Jeddah, discussing the proposal. “I really want to protect ourselves and make no comment, but it’s a joke. Like a week ago, there’s an engine meeting and then things like this end up on the agenda again.”
While Wolff was against even considering the idea, some of his rivals were not. “They [Mercedes] seem very confident in the job that they’ve done for next year,” Red Bull boss Christian Horner explained.
“I think that this is something that we asked to be looked at two years ago, and it’s not something that we pushed to be on the agenda this week at all. The FIA have gone away and done their research.
“And I think what they want to desperately avoid is a lot of lifting and coasting in the Grand Prix itself, which will be not particularly good for the sport and hugely frustrating for the drivers. So it’s not something that we’ve lobbied for or asked for, and if they’re doing it in the interest of the sport, then you’ve got to support it.”
According to a report from The Race, following a discussion amongst the teams, it was agreed that ‘further evaluation about ways to help concerns about a lack of energy deployment should also be looked at’.
The power units weren’t the only part of the technical regulations up for debate. The FIA also proposed changing the skid block materials for certain race weekends in a bid to avoid more grass fires, like the ones experienced throughout the Japanese Grand Prix earlier this year.
However, The Race explained that this suggestion met some opposition with teams protesting the cost that developing two different skid blocks would incur, especially for a problem that has only surfaced twice in the past handful of years.
