Symonds promises 1,000 bhp and less downforce for 2026 F1 cars

Formula 1 chief technical officer Pat Symonds has offered his latest insight into the sport’s next generation cars, insisting they will be more challenging to drive thanks to increased horsepower and reduced downforce.

Formula 1 will introduce its future regulation platform in 2026, with the wholesale changes including both Grand Prix racing’s chassis rules and power unit specifications.

While the former have yet to be finalized, the latter have been signed and sealed, and will include a 50/50 power split between the 1.6-liter turbocharged engine, running on 100% sustainable fuel, the hybrid system.

The unit’s more robust electrical power will rely entirely on an MGU-K component as the new configuration has been stripped of its MGU-H element.

This change has led to concerns – mainly expressed by Red Bull – that engines could rapidly run out of electrical power on the straights which in turn would limit output, with turbo lag also kicking in.

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But Symonds dismissed these concerns, most of which have been addressed.

“They will be, at the moment, cars with electrical power fully delivering 900 horsepower,” he said, speaking on F1’s 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. That’s going. [But] turbo lag is not what it used to be in the old days.”

In addition to a power output boost, the 2026 regulations should see a reduction in aerodynamic downforce, along with a cutback in weight and size, changes that should prove beneficial to the show on the track.

“We do want to reduce the downforce on the car,” he said.

“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.”

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