Ferrari power unit technical director Enrico Gualtieri has said that Formula 1’s new engine manufacturers will face a ‘huge challenge’ preparing for the sport’s new regulations set to come into force in 2026.
Audi and a Ford-supported Red Bull Powertrains programme are to join the four incumbent engine providers for F1’s 2026 shakeup of its power unit regulations with Andretti-Cadillac a possibility to join that list mid-cycle.
The new generation of F1 power units will be lighter given the removal of the MGU-H unit while still relying more heavily on electric power owing to higher-performing MGU-K units.
For existing providers, the change in regulations will already prove challenging given that the sport’s power unit rules have remained relatively stable for the past decade since the dawn of the hybrid era.
Speaking on the rapidly approaching regulation change, Enrico Gualtieri has warned of a challenge for those without the benefit of existing knowledge of F1 hybrids and, perhaps more pressingly, the infrastructure required to build a championship-contending engine.
“It’s hard to say because, obviously, I’m not in their facility or in their shoes,” Gualtieri said of the expectations for the likes of Audi and Ford ahead of 2026.
“But in the end, I think that for sure the level of complexity of this product is high. And it’s true that preparing for a brand-new project is not an easy task for anyone.
“So I can for sure respect the job that they are doing on this, because for sure you need to learn and to create something that is not only related to design, competencies or skill from the engineering perspective, but also logistics or infrastructure. So they are facing an important and huge challenge as well.”
Gualtieri added that one of the biggest challenges Ferrari faces in preparation for 2026 is the division of labour in splitting focus on its current product, while also ensuring the stable is in good stead for the new regulations.
“On our side, obviously, it’s a different thing,” he continued. “It’s true as well that we have to cope with the current programme that is still somehow requiring energy in order to be obviously looked after in view of what we have to deploy on the season.
“So somehow they are different challenges, but both of them are quite high in terms of level of effort that we have worked to deploy.
“It’s true that we are entering this stage at which we are developing the core parts of the new power unit.
“But in terms of percentage it’s somehow easy, because at the end we have dyno hours for the current period that are somehow defined, and these are reducing season by season.
“So this season we will have a further reduction on the dyno hours that we can deploy on the current power unit. So we are reducing somehow by definition what we are putting on the current engine, and all the rest obviously has to be driven through the new project.
“Despite this challenge we are focused on the 2024 season as well, because this seems to be the longest season ever, and we know how challenging it will be for the components and for the power unit itself. So still, the focus is really, really high on the season that we are about to start.”
