Pat Symonds wants fairness with the new F1 engine manufacturers for 2026
Formula 1 has never been so attractive, notably with the new technical regulations for single-seaters that arrived last year and the cleaner engines that will arrive in 2026. According to Pat Symonds, the future of F1 depends on a good balance between the performances of the engine manufacturers.
Introduced in 2014, the turbo hybrid V6 engine will not be replaced by a new one. Its design and development will be modified for 2026, the implementation date of the new power unit regulations. A greater emphasis on electric power, the elimination of the heat recovery system, and the use of sustainable fuels will be the main changes to achieve the ultimate goal of the premier category: carbon neutrality for F1 by 2030.
A project that has already attracted the Volkswagen Group, with the arrival of the Audi brand in three years. Still within the same group, Porsche is also and still seeking to enter Formula 1 despite last year’s failed negotiations with Red Bull.
More recently, Andretti Global also announced its intention to enter Formula 1 as the eleventh team. To strengthen its candidacy, it announced a partnership with another group: General Motors through its brand Cadillac. The list of approved engine manufacturers to work on the 2026 technical regulations was finalized last December, and however, none of GM’s brands are present.
2026, an equality challenge.
Arriving in 2015, one year after the introduction of the V6 Hybrids, engine manufacturer Honda took several long years to catch up with the competition, both in terms of reliability and performance.
A situation that Pat Symonds, the technical director of Formula 1 in charge of the new engine regulations, is desperately trying to avoid. He wants to ensure fair conditions for the new manufacturers.
“We have set numerous high-level objectives with the new regulation, and one of the high-level objectives for the power unit in 2026 was to standardize the rules of the game for new entrants,” explained Symonds.
« The combustion in a current Formula 1 engine is very, very different from the combustion in what I would call a conventional engine. It’s almost like a diesel engine running on gasoline. It’s a very complex combustion.
« It’s not something obvious when you have been designing race engines for years and suddenly find yourself working on a Formula 1 engine, it’s very different. »
Translate: « So we wanted to level the playing field a bit, because people like Audi and Porsche, Cadillac have raised their heads, there are others that I won’t name – it’s not a bad thing. It’s actually quite good to have these names in the sport. »
Pat Symonds’ opinion on an eleventh team
In parallel with the interest shown by the new manufacturers, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has launched an application process for an eleventh team.
The Andretti/Cadillac project is the one that has made the most noise in the F1 microcosm, and doubts have been raised about the interest it brings to the current grid.
Symonds declared that he was open to the entry of new teams and would add more cars on the grid, as long as they brought value to F1.
« There is nothing wrong with having more cars, as long as they are of good quality, he declared. « We don’t want to go back to the HRT case of 2011 or before.
But sports are experiencing incredible success right now. It’s not surprising that people want to get involved, because we have transformed sports over the past five years, shifting from a cost center to a profit center.
So, I’m not surprised that they want to get involved now.
