(Motorsport-Total.com) – In 2027, the power unit in Formula 1 is no longer supposed to follow the 50-50 split between internal combustion engine and electric energy. Instead, a 60-40 split is planned, on which the current drivers also have an opinion.
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Max Verstappen, arguably the biggest critic of the current rules, speaks of a “step in the right direction.”
“It is the least I hoped for. It is good to see that they want to implement it because the sport desperately needs it.”
His teammate Isack Hadjar expresses similarly optimistic views: “This is 100 percent a step in the right direction. We all want to see that and make the right decision.”
Norris remains confident
The reigning world champion Lando Norris also speaks positively about the upcoming changes: “This is certainly the right direction. As drivers, we all warmly welcome this step. We want this, and I believe many complaints about throttle and such things will become history.”
Furthermore, Norris emphasizes: “Maybe it won’t be perfect, and it’s not the perfect world we all wish for. But it is definitely the right direction, and that is exactly what we want for the future, for racing. It is what we as drivers want, so FIA should do everything it can.”
“You still have to try to satisfy various people. But if you want the sport to get better, then the racing has to get better. If you want the drivers to be happier, then this is certainly the right way.”
Teammate Oscar Piastri has the following thoughts on the subject: “It is a step in the right direction, but if it is only that step, then it is not the solution. Even with the previous engines, we had a split of 80-20 or 85-15.”
“On some tracks, we also couldn’t run at full power all the time back then. We were close, and on many circuits, we could implement exactly that. But until you find a split where you can always use full electric power, it will always feel a bit strange for us as drivers on the straights.”
Problems in qualifying
Qualifying remains a problem for Piastri: “And no matter what the split looks like, you will have problems at the start of the qualifying lap keeping the battery at the right level. The balance for the battery is really difficult.”
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“Either you start the lap without a full battery, or you have no boost pressure in the turbo. There is no solution for that except adjusting the hardware. That would be the only real solution, but [the 60-40 split] is a step in the right direction.”
Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, expresses skepticism: “There have already been some steps in the right direction. Are they enough? Well, there are further steps we can take. Which of those do we have to implement? That is another question.”
Unfair consequences after years of development?
“Of course, these rules represent a major change for teams and drivers. For years, people have worked to ensure they are really ready and to have a rough direction in development for the coming years. With the changes next year, you have to be careful not to throw away the balance of the past years. That is the most difficult aspect.”
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“We have to do something and improve the situation, that is clear. But we have to be careful how we implement it because every team has a different design philosophy and uses different ways to deal with the rules.”
“Finding something that makes sense for everyone and is fair for everyone will be much more complex than we originally thought. That is why I believe it will be difficult to find a way that works for everyone. Nevertheless, I know that everyone is working exactly towards that.”
No solution until 2030?
Drivers like Liam Lawson, Alexander Albon, or Carlos Sainz wonder whether the changes will really be sufficient to satisfy the field. Lawson had already emphasized some time ago that Formula 1 drivers are generally hard to please.
“For us drivers, it will never be enough,” explains Williams driver Sainz. “We all just love what we love, and that means: If it has to be electric energy, then it should be an additional option, instead of a scenario where we depend on it, as is currently the case.”
“In the past, we had KERS [or] the last engine regulations, where the electric energy felt like an add-on to what was already present as a power unit. Drivers, purists, and even journalists will always believe that a 60-40 split is probably not good enough yet, but at least something we can drive with until real racing and real engines come back in 2030.”
This perspective is also fitting with the summarizing sentence from Fernando Alonso: “The DNA of these engines will always remain the same, and it will always be worth driving slowly into the corners.”
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