Ferrari reveals stance on controversial potential F1 rule change

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur has signalled that he is open to a change in F1's 2026 power unit regulations, ahead of a crunch meeting.

The F1 Commission is meeting today (Thursday 24th April), where the 2026 engines are on the agenda following reports in Saudi Arabia last weekend of a fundamental change to the units.

Currently, the engines are set to feature a 50-50 split between the internal combustion engine and beefed-up electrical systems of providing power. However, simulations have found that at circuits with long straights, such as Monza, the cars could run out of the 350kw of electrical energy. 

This would mean cars reverting to just the ICE for power along a straight, dropping to around 590bhp, with F2 cars potentially faster as they are capable of producing 620bhp. 

As such, the topic of shifting the balance away from the batteries and more to the ICE, in a potential 60-40 split, has been added to the agenda for the meeting, in which four of the five manufacturers for 2026 must agree to in order to change the rules.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is vehemently against the idea, whilst Red Bull Powertrains boss Christian Horner is supportive.

The stances of Honda and Audi are not publicly known, but Vasseur has signalled he would be willing to listen and participate in a discussion.

"The proposition came [on Saturday], but I didn't have time to think about it and discuss with the engine guy," Vasseur told media, including RacingNews365. 

"What is true is that we need to be open-minded on the situation because it is the first time that we have such a big change to the regulations, starting with the engine, then the chassis, and it means we have to review everything.

"Let's have the F1 Commission on Thursday, let's discuss this, but I am open to discussing it because we have to be focused on what is best for F1 in the future."