Drivers risk potentially massive time losses from not managing energy deployment correctly under F1\u2019s new power unit regulations.<\/p>\n
The increased electrification of the F1 2026 power units sees the MGU-K contribute 350kW of energy, as part of a near 50\/50 split with the internal combustion engine.<\/p>\n
Ayao Komatsu: Mistakes in energy deployment will be visible<\/p>\n
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Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for news you can trust.<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s collective shakedown in Barcelona was the first occasion for the teams and drivers to get to grips with how the new power units and the new cars worked on track, having spent the last few years preparing for F1\u2019s revolutionary new ruleset.<\/p>\n Alongside a move to sustainable fuels, the latest-generation 1.6-litre V6 engines utilise harvested electrical energy to contribute a significant percentage of the new cars\u2019 power output, and the management of this is something the drivers must get to grips with quickly to be successful in the new era of the sport.<\/p>\n While the overall outright performance of the cars is unlikely to be far off the performance of the last generation, with laptimes in Barcelona just over five seconds off last year\u2019s best, the ease of potential to make mistakes in managing energy deployment could translate into large chunks of time haemhorraging away during a lap.<\/p>\n Speaking during a media session with select media, including PlanetF1.com, Haas<\/a>\u2018 team principal Ayao Komatsu shed some light on the extent of the challenge facing the engineers as the drivers will need to fight some instincts in order to deliver the best possible performance.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it were only a tenth, I\u2019d be happy,\u201d he smiled when asked about the potential time loss of mismanaging deployment.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t think you can separate drivers and engineers in this instance. But this is both the good and bad of the challenges of this new regulation; the drivers and engineers really need to work together in a much more integrated way than before in order to develop the car.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of visibility for the fans, I think fans will see straight away that if somebody is not deploying correctly, let\u2019s say opening their qualifying lap down the pit straight into Turn 1, you will realise straight away they didn\u2019t do it correctly.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think it will be very visible, especially earlier on. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll see in Bahrain, when you see people doing quali simulation, how consistently everyone\u2019s doing it.<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t had time to really digest everybody else\u2019s GPS data. Maybe Mercedes hasn\u2019t got that inconsistency, but harvesting is very condition-dependent, driver operation-dependent, and then software needs to work very well to help robustness, if you like.<\/p>\n \u201cSo there is more vulnerability at the start of the season. I think if something goes wrong, I think it will be pretty obvious, because we\u2019re not talking about tenths. You can lose half a second, six-tenths, seven-tenths, very, very easily. That\u2019s the scary bit.\u201d<\/p>\n With his driver, Esteban Ocon, acknowledging that the new cars are likely to be \u201cenergy-starved\u201d, Komatsu said the amount of energy that the cars can recover during a lap is insufficient to allow for anything less than conscientious harvesting.<\/p>\n \u201cThe main thing is, obviously, we\u2019re trying to use and deploy so much electrical energy, but what we can harvest, what we can recover is really not enough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the simple message. Therefore, you really have to recover energy very well and not waste the energy you recovered in order to be able to deploy properly.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are wasting the energy on an outlap or even during the race, in certain parts of the track, you haven\u2019t got energy to deploy.<\/p>\n \u201cSo everybody is in a very, very tight situation in terms of making the best use of the limited energy you can recover.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the biggest difference compared to previous years, just the penalty of getting it wrong is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n As an example of how easy it may be to make mistakes, a driver being too greedy on the throttle in one section of the track will have repercussions further around the lap.<\/p>\n \u201cOver a certain percentage of our throttle, there\u2019s no choice by regression, you\u2019ve got to deploy electrical energy. So do you want to go over that threshold?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, the slow-speed castle section in Baku, there\u2019s no point deploying electrical energy in between corners that\u2019s going to do nothing in terms of straight-line speed or actually break traction, right? So you really don\u2019t want to be deploying any of that electrical energy at a certain point of the track.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, if you accidentally do that, go on the throttle a little bit too much, and then deploy the MGU-K, or the MGU-K engages the turbo, then, by the time you go to the main straight, you haven\u2019t got the necessary electric energy available, right?<\/p>\n \u201cSo then you pay a big price.<\/p>\n \u201cPreparing for the qualifying lap in Barcelona, it\u2019s very, very important how you go through those last couple of corners. If you don\u2019t carry enough speed out of Turn 14 in Barcelona, then, by the time you come to the start\/finish line, you don\u2019t have enough speed, right? So your qualifying app is already ruined.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, if you are trying to get the speed up, but then have too much throttle, again, you are deploying towards the end of the outlap, so you just waste the battery on the timed lap.<\/p>\n \u201cSo there\u2019s a very clear conflict of a demand of what a driver needs to achieve, the system needs to achieve, so you\u2019ve got to get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n More Barcelona F1 2026 test reaction via PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n Shakedown conclusions: Mercedes back in the light, Red Bull finds peace, key Newey question<\/a><\/p>\n Winners and losers from the Barcelona testing shakedown (Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya)<\/a><\/p>\n Figuring out how best to harvest and utilise energy at any given circuit will therefore be an added task for a driver and team upon arrival at any given venue, and Komatsu said the extent of the challenge will vary from circuit to circuit.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t say much for other PU users, but in our case, certainly, Barcelona was one of the very challenging ones just because of the track layout and how the last corner is,\u201d he said, when asked by PlanetF1.com just how close to 100 per cent understanding it\u2019s possible to be by the season opener in Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Bahrain is going to be slightly easier. Having said that, there\u2019s a lot of work we need to do still to really get ourselves better prepared.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first several races, at least, I think you will see some issues, not issues as in a car breaking down or anything, issues in terms of not optimising your deployment for qualifying or during the race.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have two more tests to do, and at the first test in Bahrain, I think that\u2019s something we really need to be focused on in terms of going through those procedures, making sure you get the consistency.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then again, even if you get to the stage where you\u2019re very confident in Bahrain on consistency, etc, then you go to Melbourne in completely different conditions. That\u2019s going to be another huge challenge. So I think it\u2019s going to be a steep, steep learning curve for most of us.\u201d<\/p>\n A major performance differentiator, aside from the power unit itself, is likely to stem from the fact the power unit manufacturers themselves will have a far greater understanding of the characteristics and potential of their systems than their customer teams.<\/p>\n This means that, for the likes of Audi, RBPT, Mercedes, Ferrari, and Honda, they enjoy a knowledge advantage over the customer squads they supply \u2013 a fact that Komatsu says means F1 2026 will not be a \u201clevel playing field\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know people like Mercedes, like Ferrari\u2026 I mean Mercedes, you remember how prepared they were when they came into this initial hybrid era in 2014,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo by looking at Barcelona shakedown week, day one, how much data, how fast they are running, I think they\u2019ve done their homework very well. It\u2019s not a surprise to any of us, right? And then the same with Ferrari.<\/p>\n \u201cFerrari has been developing quite well, so manufacturing teams, I\u2019m sure, those guys have the knowledge inside out compared to the customer teams like us. So that\u2019s a challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cBut having said that, Ferrari has been, over the past 10 years, very collaborative with really good collaboration.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we are working together, especially in terms of the energy management area. All the learnings of the Ferrari PU that the engineers do with us, the energy area that goes back to Ferrari, right?<\/p>\n \u201cSo within a relevant department, I\u2019m sure we are developing the procedures together, but I don\u2019t say it\u2019s a level playing field. Of course, teams with bigger resources, bigger experience, teams used to running Formula E teams, for instance, they will have an advantage, but that\u2019s how they do their homework, right?<\/p>\n \u201cSo I\u2019m not complaining at all, but let\u2019s say it\u2019s gonna be a huge challenge for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n