Predictions Formula 1 drivers will have to back off from full throttle on straights under next year’s new rules will come true, Williams team principal James Vowles has said.
However he believes drivers slowing to conserve battery power could improve the quality of racing.
Under new rules for the 2026 F1 season, engines will no longer have an MGU-H to generate power. They will retain a conventional turbocharged internal combustion engine plus an MGU-K capable of generating more electrical power.
However critics of the new rules have claimed this won’t be enough for drivers to use full power at every available opportunity. There have even been dire warnings drivers might have to down-shift on long straights as they run out of power.
Vowles said drivers may have to slow down to some extent but he is hopeful it will have a positive effect on the racing.
“Will there be slowing? Yes,” he told Sky. “Will I think it’d be a bad thing? No, because I think there’s quite an interesting dynamic and overtaking you start getting next year.”
Williams use power units supplied by Mercedes, who enjoyed a dominant period when the current rules were introduced in 2014. Despite this Vowles, who worked for Mercedes during their run of championship wins, said he isn’t confident they will have the best engine in 2026.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“I’ve had the pleasure of working for Mercedes and with Mercedes for over 20 years now, from the engine production side for 15 of that, and they are really good at thinking through the problems that you [will] encounter in the following year and getting ahead of the programme,” he said. “That’s what I’m seeing at the moment.
“They’ve been really good. Even the simulator sessions that we’re doing – our simulator isn’t just focused on this year, it is really focused on next year as well – and we’re just working through problems already.
“That doesn’t mean that you’re ahead of everyone else. It just means you’ve done good preparation.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff recently suggested the new power units could increase top speeds to 400kph. However last week he clarified he did not believe that would happen in a real-world situation.
“Everybody’s talking those engines down, so I had to figure out is there anything positive?” he said. “And that is – obviously it sounds sarcastic – but if you were to deploy all the energy on a single straight, you could make those cars go 400 kilometres an hour.
“I don’t know if somebody got afraid by it, but you could. But there wouldn’t be much electric energy left for the few other corners on a circuit.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Miss nothing from RaceFans
Get a daily email with all our latest stories – and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:
