A single engine manufacturer is likely to dominate the all-new 2026 F1 regulations, says superstar designer Adrian Newey. The 66-year-old Brit left Red Bull amid internal turmoil last year. He will head up the ambitious Mercedes Benz-powered, Lawrence Stroll-bank rolled Aston Martin.
“If you had told me a year ago I would leave Red Bull and start everything completely from scratch, I would have said, ‘you’re crazy’. But for various reasons, I felt I wouldn’t be honest with myself if I had stayed at Red Bull. Once I made that decision, the next question was what do I do next?” Newey told Auto Motor und Sport.
2026 F1 REGULATIONS
Newey starts work at Silverstone in early March and will focus on Aston Martin’s 2026 package. Mastering brand new rules from the very start is regarded as one of Newey’s greatest technical strengths. “I think there is a strong possibility that 2026 F1 regulations will be an engine-dominated formula at the start. “The reality is I can’t think of another time in F1 where the chassis and engine regulations have changed simultaneously. And the chassis rules have largely been written to compensate for the power units,” explained Newey.
The current generation of engines debuted more than a decade ago in 2014. At that time Mercedes came out of the blocks with a huge advantage. This paved the road for the works team’s run of seven consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ titles. “There is the potential for one manufacturer to stand out far above the rest and for the 2026 F1 regulations to be dominated by power units, at least initially,” Newey said.
TOTAL ENGINE DOMINATION
“There is the possibility if someone can develop a dominant engine, they will maintain dominance for the entire duration of the formula. Because of the way the rules are written, it is quite difficult for those who are behind to catch up. If the advantage is on the electric side, there is much more scope to make up ground if you’re behind. However, while the power unit rules have been published for a while, I’ve been out of F1 since April 2024. So, the truth is I don’t know everything about the rules at the moment and it will be a quick learning curve when I start,” concluded Newey. – with GMM
ARE YOU EXCITED FOR F1 IN 2026?
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