Red Bull's Adrian Newey explains how the 2026 F1 regulations could be a 'strange formula'

Red Bull CTO Adrian Newey claimed that the 2026 F1 regulations will be a 'strange formula' to execute successfully at tracks like Monaco.

The sport is gearing up for another major regulation change in 2026 as it will be developing a new generation of turbo-hybrid engines, where ICE and the battery would be split into 50/50.

Speaking with Autosport, Newey pointed out that the ICE acting as a generator would leave the door open for weird characteristics such as the teams running 'full revs' at the hairpin in Monaco. He said:

“It's certainly going to be a strange formula in as much as the engines will be working flat-chat as generators just about the whole time. So, the prospect of the engine working hard in the middle of Loews hairpin is going to take some getting used to.”

“The problem potentially on the battery and electric side is the cost currently, certainly of electric motors to F1 standard, plus inverters and batteries. It is very high, but perhaps production techniques in the future will help to bring that down."

Red Bull CTO chimes in F1 teams potentially introducing active aero in 2026

Red Bull aero wizard Adrian Newey stated that it would be difficult to manage the active aero and the new engine settings with a 50/50 split.

These new engine regulations are forcing the designers to consider drastic chassis rules such as introducing active aero which would enable teams to deliver more downforce on the corners and reduce drag on the straights.

As quoted by the aforementioned source, Newey pointed out that the regulators might have focused on the chassis side while introducing the new engine regulations. He said:

“I think it is going to be difficult. It is fair to say that the engine regulations were created and pushed through without very much thought to the chassis side of it, and that is now creating quite large problems in terms of trying to come up with a solution to work with it.

“But I think the one good thing out of that, is that it does promote efficiency. And I think anything that does that, and promotes that, has to be in line with what I said earlier: of trying to use F1 to popularise a trend.”

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen shared Newey's concerns and stated that he wasn't the biggest fan of active aerodynamics as he believed that the sport should keep things simple and not delve into complex bits like active suspensions and aero.