30/03/2024
NEWS STORY
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.