Renault: F1 should bring forward 2026 engine rules changes
Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul believes that Honda's pending withdrawal from the championship should trigger an earlier than planned change of Formula 1's power unit regulations


The current rules are due to remain in place until the end of 2025, and discussions are already underway about what direction F1 technology should take after that.
F1 managing director Ross Brawn has publicly acknowledged that no new manufacturer is likely to join the sport until new regulations come into force.
Abiteboul suggests that Honda's withdrawal indicates that the current rules are not as successful as they should be, and that the change should be brought forward from 2026 in order to encourage other manufacturers to enter.
Honda announced last week that it will stop its F1 programme at the end of the 2021 season, leaving the Red Bull and AlphaTauri teams looking for a new partner.
"I want to be very clear that we take no satisfaction in the Honda situation," Abiteboul told Autosport.
"We need to call it the way it is, it's not a positive development for F1. We want an F1 with car makers, with OEMs, with engine suppliers, and being down to three engine manufacturers is not a positive development.
"We need to draw some clear conclusions from this situation, and it's something I've been urging the governing body to look at more carefully.
"The engine situation is simply unsustainable. In particular from an economic perspective, but also from a technology perspective.
"I am not sure we can afford this perception.

"Either we're capable of changing this perception of the current engine architecture, or probably we need to fast track the adoption of a new architecture, so that we get in a better place in terms of perception again.
"I would expect that this development triggers some harder thinking about the scheduling of the next generation of power trains."
Abiteboul concedes that under the current rules the sport is not attractive to new manufacturers given the resources required to develop a competitive package, especially with the other manufacturers having units developed for over six seasons of racing.
But he also agreed that Honda's stated reasoning for its withdrawal - focusing on its plans to pursue sustainability and carbon neutrality - did not reflect well on F1, and says that F1 as a whole has not effectively promoted its efficiency credentials.
"It's just more evidence that we have failed in putting together the right messaging and the right marketing of these engine regulations, which are mind blowing - there is nothing more advanced in the world in terms of automotive powertrain.
"There is nothing that even gets close to this efficiency level for light vehicles, so that's remarkable.
"But it's just as remarkable to have failed so badly in explaining to the world and getting the world to understand what this is all about, and the windfalls that could impact more mainstream technology.
"It's just the basics of marketing, we need to get the world to know what we're doing, not simply do it and complain about it.
"Every now and then when drivers are talking about the engines, it's to complain, and it's very unfortunate that we have very little opportunity to talk about how amazing the engines are.
"Maybe we need to ask ourselves if we need to have that level of technology in the engines if technology is only deemed to be detrimental to the competitiveness of a team and of a car."

Planned Rio F1 race faces environmental group opposition
Vettel: 'Some fights I shouldn't have picked' in failed Ferrari spell

Latest news
Castroneves: “Too early” to think about potential replacement by Blomqvist
Four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves says it’s too soon to consider Meyer Shank Racing might want to swap him to the IMSA squad and bring Tom Blomqvist over to IndyCar.
Why some DTM teams take out crash insurance but others gamble
The 2022 DTM season featured several major pile-ups and accidents, costing teams several hundred thousands in repair costs. While some had insured cars against such damage, others weren’t so well prepared…
Ricciardo: Australian GP buzz will tell me a lot about F1 comeback
Red Bull third driver Daniel Ricciardo says attending his home grand prix in Melbourne will likely tell him whether he wants to make a full-time comeback to Formula 1 or not.
Kirkwood admits he overdrove as an IndyCar rookie
Kyle Kirkwood admits he was overdriving at AJ Foyt Racing in 2022 and is expecting to rebuild his reputation at Andretti Autosport.
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
How do the best races of F1 2022 stack up to 2021?
OPINION: A system to score all the grands prix from the past two seasons produces some interesting results and sets a standard that 2023 should surely exceed
Who were the fastest drivers in F1 2022?
Who was the fastest driver in 2022? Everyone has an opinion, but what does the stopwatch say? Obviously, differing car performance has an effect on ultimate laptime – but it’s the relative speed of each car/driver package that’s fascinating and enlightening says ALEX KALINAUCKAS
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.