Stefano Domenicali has returned to a thorny topic, which interests i 2026 engines and their characteristics. Even before the regulation comes into force, some conceptual distortions are evident for a category like F1.
Adrian Newey indicated just one, the paradox of a thermal engine which, in the slowest corner of the world championship, the former Loews in Montecarlo, roars at high rpm to produce energy intended for the electrical part. There is probably something that doesn’t add up in the definition of the concepts that will be of the 2026 engines. Indeed, they already are, given the work started some time ago on hybrid units with half of the 1,000 hp produced by the MGU-K.
E-fuels would be enough for F1
Domenicali returned to talk about e-fuels, interviewed by Auto Motor und Sport. It could be the type of fuel (synthetic, with zero net carbon emissions – it captures Co2 in the atmosphere and produces up to 80% less than fossil fuels -) capable of freeing F1 from the hybrid. Only after 2030, however.
“My personal opinion is that it would be sufficient to use a climate-neutral fuel. However, we had to take the manufacturers’ wishes into account”says Domenicali when commenting on the PU 2026.
The weight of the builders in the rules of the game
A constructors’ Formula 1 cannot ignore the rules appreciated by builders. Which are rules of the game directly linked to the auto industry. The non-negligible detail is the radical change in sensitivity towards exclusively electric mobility – imposed by decree by Europe, not without distinction and with a future of 2035 still to be understood -. First everyone to profess the “all in” on the electric, an enthusiasm entirely of marketing and optimistic forecasts. Then, the reality wash. Honda, when it withdrew from F1 at the end of 2021 – only to then remain there in various forms, and relaunch in 2026 – justified the cut of the program F1 on the altar of costs. The resources had to go to research and development of the electric for road Hondas.
“Things developed so quickly that a decision today could be different from the one made two years ago. I’m not an engineer, but I have to have a vision of what sport will be like in the future.”continues Domenicali.
“I can imagine that, with the next regulations, we could limit ourselves to having a sustainable fuel. If we can demonstrate that we produce zero emissions with it, we will be able to focus on other important aspects of sustainability.”
E-fuels a piece of tech neutrality
Here, on relevance for the large automotive industry and the mass mobility of e-fuels, caution must be extreme. The critical issues revolve around the production volumes of synthetic fuels, which are actually “drop in” on many cars, with tests conducted by manufacturers to verify the effectiveness and possibility of use, for example, already on post-2013 models. The reality check imposes true technological neutrality for standard mobility: there will be electric, thermal in hybrid form, a small portion of e-fuels and, probably, a niche for combustion hydrogen.
2026 choices made with other priorities
Domenicali underlines how the influence of the motorists was decisive on the definition of the 2026 regulations. “You always have to keep an eye on the political climate of the time. There were times when we were asked to become completely electrified. We stuck with the hybrid solution and then realized that with sustainable fuel we could demonstrate to the world that other technologies existed. But when the 2026 engine regulations were drafted, we couldn’t do without the hybrid.
At the time, it was important for manufacturers to increase the share of electric power. Today they might think differently, because the world has understood that there are different ways to achieve sustainability. Today they realize that our approach to fuel could be beneficial for them in the series.”
