Helmut Marko urges teams to stop ‘political games’ amidst 2026 regulation concerns
Pushing for a change to the 2026 engine regulations, Helmut Marko hopes the Formula 1 teams stop playing their “political games” and that reason prevails.
Formula 1’s 2026 engine regulations were signed off last year already with the sport moving toward more electrical power with the MGU-K set for nearly three times the electrical power.
It will result in a 50/50 split between electrical power and that produced by the internal combustion engine.
Helmut Marko calls for 2026 tweaks ‘in the spirit of the sport’
何wever, of late Red Bull, claiming they’re perhaps further along in their 2026 engine plans than their rivals, have raised concerns about the batteries with Christian Horner saying the drivers might run out of energy on straights, forcing them to downshift.
This has led to the latest slinging match between the Red Bull team boss and Mercedes’ Toto Wolff, the latter accusing Horner of being frightened by the rules and trying to kill them off with Horner saying that’s just “scaremongering”.
With Horner, and also Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur, adamant there is still time to tweak the rules, Marko has called for “reason” to prevail.
“I hope that the political games will take a back seat and that reason will prevail,” he toldMotorsport-Magazin.com.
“The ratio of 50:50 will not ensure the right racing atmosphere in the current situation. You can address that. It’s not something because we’re behind, it’s in the spirit of the sport.”
Rather than be behind as Wolff suggested, the Red Bull motorsport advisor says his team’s Powertrains Division is “doing very well” with the new engine.
“Two weeks ago, the entire engine was running on the test bench. Combustion engine, MGU-K, and battery,” he revealed.
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“Many developments are underway in the battery sector. Through our cooperation with Ford, we have a partner who, like all automobile plants, is incredibly innovative in this sector.
“According to the information we have, we are doing well when it comes to the combustion engine.”
He’s also very proud of the facilities Red Bull have created to build their first-ever Formula 1 engine.
“All in all, the unbelievable happened,” he said. “This factory was built out of the ground in a relatively short time and we are certainly state of the art at the moment.
“We have the latest test benches and have been able to recruit very good people from Mercedes, Ferrari, and Cosworth. We’re fully into the program.”
One person eager to see how Red Bull’s engine project plays out is Max Verstappen withthe driver admitting his future could rest on it.
Asked what he would do if Red Bull got it wrong, he told De Telegraaf: “Things would have to get really bad and dramatic, I think. I also don’t expect that a team can drop back that far, with all those good people walking around with us.
“In this sport, it can always be the case that you are not in a good position as a team for a while. Then it’s about what the prospects are and what the outlook is.
“But yes, I don’t see myself touring midfield for three years. Then I’d rather stay at home or do something else.
“But again, I don’t see that happening.”
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