A senior Haas F1 team member has suggested there is some “fear” across the grid over the potential for one team to eke out a large gap to the competition next year.
F1 will undergo a significant regulation change in 2026, with significant changes coming to both the aerodynamic and power units.
The last major engine change came in 2014, which saw Mercedes produce a far superior power unit to the rest of the field.
Five manufacturers have signed up to join F1 next year, all bringing their own concepts in the hope of taking a leap up the pecking order.
Jonathan Heal, who works as deputy chief engineer at Haas, has highlighted the very real possibility of one manufacturer building a dominant power unit.
“There are a lot of unknowns on the engine side and probably a little bit of fear of what happened in 2014,” Heal told media including RacingNews365.
“The regulations change completely. It's not entirely sure where each of the power units will be and whether it is a big dominance on that.”
The FIA has insisted it does not expect to see gaps similar to 2014 next year as the technology is much simpler compared to the original turbo hybrids, as well as giving those who lag behind a chance to catch up.
Heal highlighted there is significant focus on the power units, as he believes teams can gain more time from the engines rather than the aerodynamic configurations.
“If Mercedes manages to do, or someone manages to do, similar to what Mercedes did in 2014, the time difference that you can gain from power unit is bigger than or you can gain from aerodynamic development,” he said.
“Then it could become about that or tyres.
“At the moment, it's not clear, because we don't know exactly the pecking order of the power units.
“Once that's clearer, then it will be easier to say. But hopefully not.”
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!