Why Horner is not a lone voice in F1 2026’s rules disconnect

Formula 1 loves a bit of history repeating itself. Decades can be charted to plot the spells of rules stability, where the field gradually closes up on itself before there is an inevitable regulatory overhaul that shakes things up and spreads things out again.

Time and again it is the start of new rules eras where one team invariably gets things more right than anybody else, as we are seeing with Red Bull right now. It is only a few years in that things properly start to settle down – only for the next major regulation revamp.

Unfortunately, sitting still and keeping the same rules forever is not really possible in F1. There is a constant battle of trying to fight off competing forces like cars that go ever quicker, overtaking difficulties, rampant costs or road relevance, which means big change becomes inevitable.

While F1 is still waiting for the convergence that we have been promised for the current rules cycle, attention is already drifting towards the big changes that are coming for 2026. And rather than it being of universal positive excitement as we had for 2022 (that was originally planned for 2021 but got delayed because of COVID-19), the first feedback about how the next generation of cars are going to perform has not been too encouraging.

In fact, world champion Max Verstappen labelled what he has seen about the 2026 cars as “pretty terrible” in a remarkable outburst after the Austrian Grand Prix. It has all been fuelled by the biggest emerging concern; that cars are running out of battery energy halfway down straights which would account for a 50% drop in power output.

The only way around it, Red Bull’s simulations have suggested, is by drivers trying to recharge the battery by shifting down gears on the straights to try to get the MGU-K to do its stuff…

Add that issue on top of fears about it becoming a championship dominated by ICE performance, as well as active aero that will cut drag and perhaps make overtaking even harder, and it does not fill Verstappen with much excitement.

Verstappen has not held back with his views on F1's 2026 plan

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“We have to seriously look at this because I mean, 2026 is not that far away,” said Verstappen. “And at the moment, to me, it looks very bad from all the numbers and what I see from the data already. So, it's not something I'm very excited about at the moment."

The data that prompted Verstappen’s remarks is the reason why Red Bull boss Christian Horner has been voicing his own concerns about the rule changes in recent F1 Commission and team principal meetings. He thinks matters could be improved dramatically if F1 shifted away from the plan for a straight 50/50 split between the ICE and electric power as that would ensure that there would be no risk of cars derating everywhere. Plus, as Horner explained, that would allow the cars to use smaller batteries which will help bring down the chassis weight.

“It doesn't need to change that much but to cater for the circuits, maybe even a 5% swing could have a significant effect, even a 10% swing,” he said. “Obviously one of the biggest weight additions as well is the cell weight. The size of the battery is colossal for these 2026 regs.”

"[There is] definitely work to do. I would say the rules are quite immature at this stage" Andrea Stella

Horner’s decision to put his head above the parapet and push for change has inevitably led to suspicions that there is a selfish competitive motive at play here. And that perhaps his interests are fuelled by a realisation of the difficulties Red Bull will have producing its own engine and Ford helping out on the electric front.

As Toto Wolff said at the Red Bull Ring: “I think what frightens him more maybe is that his engine programme is not coming along, and then maybe he wants to kill it [the rules] that way. So, you always have to question what's the real motivation to say something like that.”

Were Horner the only one mindful about the 2026 rules then it would be fair to say that his complaints may be coming from the perspective of a competitive advantage. But a quick opinion scout up and down the pitlane shows that Horner is far from alone in being mindful of the risks of a misstep with the 2026 rules. With there being a very ambitious leap in technology and concept with plans for moveable aero, which will help reduce the drag of the cars on the straights, the regulations are not the sort of thing that can be rowed back quickly if it proves to not work for the spectacle.

Wolff has accused Horner and Red Bull of being "frightened" that their engine project is not going as well as had been hoped

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

And there is no Plan B. The 2026 engines will not work with the drag levels of the current cars, so the pressure really is on to get the aero right. One team boss said in Austria: “The real worry is that by the time we realise some element has not worked, then it could be too late to change it.”

What is fuelling the uncertainty at the moment is that it is hard for teams to properly understand the behaviour of the power units until they know how the cars are going to perform. Current data, distributed to teams and which Verstappen’s remarks were most likely based on, showed that if the 2026 engines were run in the current high-drag cars, then yes there would be problems at some tracks.

It is understood that circuits with very long flat-out sections – like Monza, Saudi Arabia and Baku – could all be quite tricky thanks to cars running out of power. However, that alert is based on the drag levels of the 2022 cars, with the 2026 challengers being completely different beasts. The plans for moveable aero (and potentially even retractable parts) that will help deliver increased downforce in the corners and reduce drag on the straights will provide a decent chunk of performance if done in the right way. They will also reduce the power demands required to push cars down the straights.

But the devil is in the detail, and F1 has to tread a careful path to ensure that, what the regulators intend to bring in, is followed through by teams who are always chasing performance irrespective of the impact it has on the show. Super low-drag cars will also prevent slipstreaming opportunities and effectively wipe out any benefit from DRS, so there are some important considerations at play. This is perhaps why there has been talk of a reverse DRS instead – where the lead cars suffer from running higher drag.

One team boss suggested that it was a hugely complex matter to get sorted and that there was a clear “disconnect” right now between what the engine rules were aiming for and where the chassis rules were likely to get to. McLaren boss Andrea Stella admitted that there was definitely some serious effort needed to get things right.

“Clearly there's a strong demand on the chassis in terms of generating efficiency, so that there's appropriate compensation of the power unit characteristics and we don't achieve strange speed profiles down the straights,” he said. “There's definitely quite a lot of work to do on both sides, power unit and chassis. And this is the objective of the next Technical Advisory Committee, where the agenda will go pretty much through all components of the car. But definitely work to do. I would say the rules are quite immature at this stage.”

But while doubts seem genuine right now, F1 does have the greatest engineering brains and none of the problems that have popped up are insurmountable as the rules start coming together. Perhaps most encouraging of all is the fact that the FIA seems to be fully aware of just how big the challenge is ahead.

The FIA is set to tackle the issues raised by the F1 teams on the 2026 rules

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

It is currently evaluating simulations of the new cars so it can soon start working through details with the teams – and the early indications are that the 2026 chassis are being shaped in a way that address the concerns that have been raised in recent weeks. But while there may be difficulties ahead, and 2026 may also put us back on the cycle of one-team dominance again, there is not a single hint that F1 is going to do a U-turn on what’s been planned.

As Wolff said: “Are our chassis designers saying, ‘well how are we going to do this?’ Yeah. But these regulations are not going to change anymore. They're not going to be postponed anymore. The world needs to show innovation around sustainability. We need to reduce emissions. And we're super excited.”

After tempting Audi to join F1 in 2026 with its new power unit regulations, Wolff is confident no adjustments will be made

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images