Formula 1 agreed to change the engine design after criticism

Formula 1 has agreed a two-step plan to change the engine design in response to criticism of the new rules this year.

Drivers complained that this year’s roughly 50-50 split between internal combustion and electric power and the need for energy management reduced the qualifying challenge.

He said four-time champion Max Verstappen was annoyed by the new engine He will leave F1 if not changedBut all the other drivers agreed that the problem needed to be fixed.

Engine suppliers have agreed to change the ratio of internal combustion engines to 60-40 by 2028 and will do so in two phases.

The compromise agreement comes after a month of talks in which Ferrari and Audi led a push to prevent a phase one shift to 60-40 for 2027.

A statement from governing body FIA said: “The proposed changes are intended to address issues related to power management and fuel energy-flow characteristics and to make qualifying more flat-out without affecting the positive and exciting racing generated by the new regulations.”

The agreed-upon plan would change the split to 58-42 in 2027 before going to 60-40 in 2028.

Changes will be made by increasing fuel-flow in internal combustion engines (ICE) by 5% in 2027 and 13% in 2028.

This will increase from around 400kW (536bhp) this year to 420kW (563bhp) in 2027 and 450kW (603bhp) in 2028 from the ICE.

Power produced by the electric part of the engine will be reduced from 350kW (470bhp) this year to 300kW (402bhp) next year.

Maximum power available in Overtake mode, which gives a driver the ability to overtake the car in front by one second and use an extra 0.5MJ of energy per lap, is at 350kW.

But the maximum power output of the electric part of the engine will increase from 350kW this year to 375kW in 2027 and 400kW in 2028.

This last step will allow teams to recover energy more quickly, reducing the amount of time spent doing so.

The biggest criticism of the new cars this year was that the engines were power hungry as it was very difficult to recover enough power around a lap to meet the maximum allowance.

In the early races, this led to unusual behaviour, such as drivers lifting off the throttle and coasting on qualifying laps, as well as recovering power while at full throttle.

This undermined the ‘flat-out’ nature of qualifying and led to bitter criticism from some drivers.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso said the new rules had made fast corners “car charging stations”.

A first step to address the criticism was made after the start of the three races, when the maximum amount of power that could be recovered in a lap was reduced and the power recovered at full throttle was increased.

All drivers agreed it was a welcome change but a small step in the right direction.

In addition to the rules agreement, the FIA ​​communicates engine performance rankings to power-unit manufacturers.

This is important because it opens the door for manufacturers deemed to be more than 2% behind the most powerful engines to upgrade their engines this year and next.

The FIA ​​has not released its verdict, but sources said Red Bull was the most powerful engine available.

Only internal combustion engine power is measured. Restoration and installation performance of electrical systems is not taken into account.

Mercedes is given one sanctioned upgrade this season and another next, while all other manufacturers – Ferrari, Audi and Honda – can do two between this season and 2027.

These approved upgrades are allowed to cost additional money under the engine budget cap, on a sliding scale depending on the performance deficit.

The Honda was classed as the worst engine as expected, but a source close to the FIA ​​said they were classed in a bracket of 8-10% behind the most powerful engine.

This meant they missed out on additional funding that was made available to any manufacturer more than 10% behind, which was $19m (£14m).