F1's technical boss, Pat Symonds sheds further light on the sport's plans for the raft of rules to be introduced in 2026.

Though the proposals have yet to be agreed and formalised, the updates to both the chassis and engine regulations appear to point the sport in a positive direction, with lighter, more powerful cars that will have less downforce.

The engine rules overhaul, which is what has attracted Audi and is also appealing to other potential OEMs, will see the electric side of the power-unit and the internal combustion engine each provide 50% of the overall power, running on 100% sustainable fuel.

With the MGU-H dropped from the new formula, the power from the electric side of the power-unit will come entirely from the MGU-K, however this has led to fears that the power units could run out of power on long straights in addition to the threat of turbo lag.

"They will be, at the moment, cars with electrical power fully delivering 900 horsepower," Symonds tells the Beyond the Grid podcast. "We're going to be over 1,000 horsepower with the '26 car, we want more of it coming from the electric motor.

"At the moment turbo lag does not exist on these cars because we have an electric motor on the turbo," he continues. "That's going, but turbo lag is not what it used to be in the old days.

"We also want to reduce the downforce on the car," he adds. "Part of the reason why the cars are so heavy is because they're having to deal with so much load, so they'll slide a little bit more.

"I think what it will do is it will put a little bit more emphasis on the driver, that's an important thing. It's the drivers who are the heroes, they're the supermen that we want to promote. So I think things are going in the right direction there."

While it all sounds positive, aside from the fact that Symonds was dropped by Renault in the aftermath of the 2008 crash-gate saga which Felipe Massa is about to drag through the courts, the last line about "heroes" and "supermen" has a little bit too much Drive to Survive hyperbole about it.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 01/04/2024 13:34

"@ Brighton Corgi...next thing you'll be wanting lightweight turbo enhanced V8/10's running on jungle juice enriched with hydrogen and at 20,000RPM or more, emitting such an ear piercing scream that without sound reducing ear muffs you are guaranteed to be largely 'mutt and jeff' for the rest of your life! "

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2. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 31/03/2024 14:49

"Screw the car design. Bring back pit girls and refueling."

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3. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 31/03/2024 11:19

"@ Bill Hopgood.
Agree totally on the Formula E, have tried to watch but 2 minutes is the most I have managed."

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4. Posted by Bill Hopgood, 30/03/2024 20:12

"The cars are the stars, well that's what it used to be about in what is now the last single seater prototype series.

I agree with others here, ditch the EV components and just go to turbo charged ICE as there is no road relevance from an F1 car to the family SUV.

As for sustainable fuels, hopefully the manufacturing process is taken into account in the calculations not just the lower emissions when burned.

As for the "supermen", let them race rather than charge this, deploy that, tweak this, adjust that, watch out for clipping etc.

Leave the rest to Formula E, which I still can't stand to watch despite my appreciation for the driver skill. That infernal noise.
"

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5. Posted by Superbird70, 30/03/2024 20:04

"@ Celtic Tiger give them 8 engines per season."

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6. Posted by Apexing, 30/03/2024 18:35

"@Superbird We can rebuild them...You do realize that now I have that theme song stuck in my head now!"

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7. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 30/03/2024 16:11

"@Superbird70; That would be nice but with only 4 ICE allotted for 24 races, I doubt any team will risk the grid penalties for new ICEs, sadly."

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8. Posted by Superbird70, 30/03/2024 12:56

"@Celtic Tiger- go one step further with no limit on revs. Let them push the limits for a change."

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9. Posted by ancient70!, 30/03/2024 11:28

"The way things are going with electrification in motor sport, I would not be surprised if attending the Royal Ascot horse races, you suddenly find the horses are now fitted with electric motors and batteries!"

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10. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 29/03/2024 19:52

"If they're simplifying the engines by doing away with a tricky component, they should increase the engine allocations, maybe then the teams can run with higher revs thus better noise. "

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11. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 29/03/2024 13:28

"So much for making the cars sound better."

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12. Posted by Chester, 29/03/2024 13:20

"Regulations. They are necessary in sport. But like regulations in business, regulations quite often have unintended consequences.

IMO, the 50% electric regulation will cause some chaos- and maybe that is exactly what they want- a bit of unpredictability."

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13. Posted by Superbird70, 29/03/2024 13:15

"We have the technology. Better…stronger…faster. Cue music."

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14. Posted by Spindoctor, 29/03/2024 11:52

"@editor Quite agree. On paper this looks quite promising, but, as you note, the tone of the release is a bit too hyped-up "human interest" for my tastes (we can watch "Neighbours" for that!).

The technical aspects are a bit ill-defined &, if the switch to Ground Effect is anything to go by, may not produce the advertised outcomes..."

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15. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 29/03/2024 10:31

"Way to much prominence given to the electrical side, if where running on sustainable fuel lets get back to a V8 or a those glorious V10s, it does not have to be road relevant any more, just bring back that awesome sound."

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2026 cars to be more powerful, lighter and with less downforce

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