Red Bull Racing seeks last-minute change in 2026 engine regulations

Red Bull Racing hopes that the engine regulations for 2026 and beyond will be adjusted, and that the FIA will agree to a last-minute change this week before the new technical regulations kick in.

The original plan is to have a balanced power ouput split of 50 percent combustion engine and 50 percent electric component (the battery) in the engines from 2026.

But Red Bull Powertrains, Ferrari, Audi, and Honda have indicated internally that their engines are not strong enough with these ratios. Moreover, some teams are worried that the battery is not strong enough, and thus they will have to hold back on the straights.

Horner disagrees with Mercedes colleague Wolff

Mercedes, through Toto Wolff, has already indicated they see no point in a late change, likely because the German team seems to have things sorted for the upcoming season. Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing's team principal, ultimately responsible for Red Bull Powertrains, does indeed wish to see an amendment made.

"[Mercedes] seem confident in the job that they've done for next year. This is something that we asked to be looked at two years ago and it's not something that we've pushed to be on the agenda this week at all. The FIA have gone away and done their research."

“What they want to desperately avoid is a lot of lifting and coasting in the Grand Prix itself, which is going to be not particularly good for the sport and hugely frustrating for the drivers. It’s not something 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."

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The team boss then delves into why a change is still important now. “The faster the cars go through the corner, the bigger the issue will be. The designers will always design cars that will go quicker through the corners than the FIA think they will. Then that only compounds your problem."

"I actually think what they've proposed, that you have a push to pass element in the race to deploy, looks pretty sensible. Obviously, we should have ideally looked at [it] two years ago, but there's still 10 months before we're racing, so I don't see it as a major issue, to be honest."

What can still be adjusted?

Nothing will be changed about the hardware of the future engines. It would purely involve a redistribution of the percentages between combustion engine and battery. The option to dial down the battery's power during races is also there, but is less likely. Naturally, it could also be decided that nothing at all changes in the current technical specifications.