Further dominance?
The Red Bull Formula 1 team is currently bursting with confidence and it has every reason to be. For the time being, nothing seems to stand in the way of the team continuing to string together successes, who knows in the coming years. However, a major change awaits in F1 in 2026, only about which Red Bull appears to be confident.
The last major rule change in Formula 1 focused on aerodynamic changes. For the 2021 season, the teams entered the field with completely redesigned cars and it turned out that Red Bull had its affairs in order. This year, the team even went the extra mile. The next major change is planned for 2026, when new engine regulations will come into effect. Will another team emerge that has its affairs in order? In any case, Red Bull does not seem to be afraid of that. Dr. Helmut Marko also attributes a favorite role to his own Red Bull before then.
In conversation with Motorsport-Total.com the 80-year-old Austrian explains that the development of the 2026 engine is going well. In fact, development is already at an advanced stage: “A complete combustion engine with MGU-K and battery will be running in August,” says Marko. “We are miles ahead of Audi and we are miles ahead of Ferrari. Mercedes is a little closer.”
As usual, Marko doesn’t mince words and creates high expectations. Not for nothing, he thinks. According to him, the Red Bull Powertrains team is at the top level: “We have people from Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Cosworth. We have Ford as a partner in the sector. We have absolute top people when it comes to combustion engines and we have two very bright minds on the electrical side.”
Engine from 2026
From 2026, the F1 will continue with the high-revving 1.6 V6 and the MGU-K may also stay. The more complex MGU-H, which generates electricity from heat and can feed electrical power back to the turbo and powertrain, is disappearing. There will be more emphasis on electric propulsion. That is to say: where the MGU-K and MGU-K now jointly deliver a power of about 160 hp, that should be almost 480 hp. That will then be purely on the plate of the MGU-K. It roughly translates to 50 percent power from fuel and 50 percent power from electricity. In addition, Formula 1 will only use 100 percent sustainable fuel from 2026.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl