There Red Bull she doesn't feel safe. The 2026 is approaching and the prospect of starting the new technical era with a completely home-made engine does not give certainties to the Milton Keynes clan who now have understandable fears. For this reason the reigning world champions have repeatedly tried to propose reducing the contribution of the electricity quota to the power unit 2026.
By June 30th World Motorsport Council must approve the proposed rules, in a very advanced draft, just before the Canadian Grand Prix weekend. The rules have not met with everyone's approval. Some subjects expressed even ferocious criticism. The accusation, made above all by Red Bull, is that overly ambitious regulations in the engine sector would lead to negative compromises for the rest of the car.
The biggest problem is the high electrical share of 350 kilowatts (475 hp) of the power units (all the details here). This places high demands on energy recovery. Is less electricity the solution? The answer seems to be negative according to the reigning world champions. Just recovering from braking or towing the engine is far from enough to provide the battery with the energy it needs each lap.
Therefore, it is practically mandatory to consume additional fuel and at the same time reduce the air resistance of the cars during the charging phases. This leads to a continuous switch between two configurations: one with more load and one with low downforce. The X and Z modes, so to speak.
The ground effect principle, which will only be introduced in 2022, will be significantly softened. Concepts that serve to avoid touching the electrical-endothermic distribution established two years ago against which Red Bull has fought and lost in this period of time.
Red Bull isolated: rivals team up
The proposal to modify the engine regulations already adopted in 2022 also emerged in the ongoing debates. Christian Horner is pushing for a reduction in the overall electricity produced by power unit. The message of sustainability, this is the line of team principal of Red Bull, it would also be made with 200 kilowatts and climate-neutral fuel. Stefano Domenicali doesn't seem to disagree. And this is not a "light" opinion. But this could not have an impact.
What does not support the English manager's action is time. The engines have been defined for too long and there is little left until 2026. The power unit they are already running on the benches and are in the process of progressive refinement also because today's engines are completely frozen. So we can focus on the Formula 1 of the imminent future.
If Red Bull tries again, other manufacturers don't want to hear about it for a variety of reasons. The first is that it is suspected that Red Bull Powertrains is at a disadvantage compared to the big car manufacturers and therefore wants to make the task easier for itself.
Audi, which on paper could be the most penalized company, is instead with Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda and Renault because it has been working for some time based on established rules. In simple words: builders do not want to see two years of work that have led to huge investments cancelled.
It's too late to change course. Whoever is behind, stay behind. Cynical reasoning that Red Bull, despite itself, must accept because no one can wait for its sector to be structured having practically been born from nothing.
“In principle, less electricity might make sense from today's perspective, but going backwards would be associated with immense costs. We have all had prototypes of our drives and batteries on the test bench for a long time. It is too late to go back, unless the introduction of the new rules is postponed by a year", he said Frédéric Vasseur extinguishing Horner's hopes.
More vehement Toto Wolff who rejects the proposal of his historical rival. “Too expensive. We are already too far ahead with development. Maybe we can do something about power. One possibility might be that full electrical power need not always be available“.
A sop for Red Bull which is instead asking for much more massive interventions than a change to the temporal delivery of electric power. Red Bull, which continues to dictate the line on the track in the penultimate year of this historical phase of Formula One, is instead isolated and politically the loser at the negotiating tables.
Does this mean that in Milton Keynes they leave defeated at the turn of the new technical era? It's difficult to say because we're talking about a team that has always been able to recover from moments of uncertainty, but we certainly can't say that they're playing under the odds.
Rest assured that the rivals, fearing its strength and ability to regenerate, will not take any step to relieve Red Bull from the difficulties which, as they say in frank and frank tones, it has to cry for itself. And who knows, Max Verstappen, hereIn this objectively uncertain context, he cannot really decide to say goodbye to the crew.
Crediti foto: Oracle Red Bull Racing