F1's 'second division': 2026 spectre for teams without works engine deal

Now the benefits of having an engine partner are more related to the layout of the power unit and its associated systems. And in 2026, with the electrical element becoming more significant, the complexity of the new generation of PUs will mean that seamless integration of the chassis and engine operations will be more important than ever.

Aston Martin boss Mike Krack flags that as a key consideration in the Honda deal.

“If you look at the 2026 PU regulations, and the chassis regulations that will be derived from them, and there have been some workshops or some working groups already since I think February last year, it shows that you have to be fully integrated,” says Krack.

“Or more and more integrated with with your PU to design the right chassis for these regulations.

“And this is something that if you have a works team, or works agreement, that you’re just more open, you can have much more information earlier, with regards to energy management, which aero configuration you have to run to set the correct targets. And this is just a big asset or a big advantage for these new kinds of regulations.”

Krack acknowledges that Honda will have an involvement in the chassis, albeit within the restrictions of the cost cap.

“I think it is unavoidable. I alluded to it; the 2026 regulations are another step in complication. And I think it’s mandatory that you have a very intense exchange between the PU and chassis side, and fuel and lubricant side, because this is another added factor.

“So from that point of view, I think it’s very important that we try to have as intense integration as possible. Because we cannot any more in ’26 develop a chassis and then fit an engine to it, and hope that we will sort it out. It’s too complex.”

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur, who explored the 2026 chassis/engine relationship with Sauber and Audi before heading to Maranello, agrees.

“For sure, it makes always sense to be a works team,” says the Frenchman. “It’s always better for the collaboration between the engine supplier and the chassis side. And it’s always an advantage.

“From our side I think that Honda is more than welcome. It’s showing also the fact that F1 is going well, that we have six engine manufacturers today when I think two or three years ago we were struggling to have three around the table. It’s getting better and better for everybody. It’s an opportunity for Aston.”

So what of the teams that don’t have a works deal for 2026? Williams boss James Vowles was on the other side of the fence when he was part of the Mercedes operation, so he’s well aware of the benefits.

“The closer you are linked with your engine manufacturer, the more you can do the layout of the back of the car the way you need it to be,” he says. “So your compromise between aerodynamic cooling, performance versus power generation, that compromise can be set by yourself, and you understand all of the targets.

“Clearly in a relationship, and we are a customer with Mercedes, that’s a lot more difficult. However, there are regulations in place now that are very good, that mean that the power unit we’re being supplied is the same power unit as elsewhere. That wasn’t the case many years ago. So I have confidence at least that the power it’s generating is good.”

Williams is in a rebuilding process of course, and even looking as far ahead as 2026 it was always going to be hard for it to attract a works partner.

McLaren however was at the very least an option for Audi and indeed for Honda, despite the messy divorce a few years back. It’s a team crying out for a works partnership to help fulfil its ambitions, and yet it doesn’t have one.

Thus there’s an argument to say that the team has dropped the ball strategically by being without a partner when the music stopped. However team principal Andrea Stella insists that even as a customer McLaren can have a good relationship with a supplier.

“You definitely have to monitor that in making deals for 2026 that as a chassis manufacturer, like McLaren, you have enough room for influencing the power unit design, he says. “So that you are not left behind from a competitiveness point of view.

“So this is what we are doing in our conversations. We know what we want to achieve. To be honest, this doesn’t seem to be difficult in the conversations we are having. So yes, it’s important. But we are satisfied that this seems to be something that we will be able to achieve.”

Pressed on the subject Stella admits that the situation is not exactly optimal.

“You want to be ideally in a position where you can influence all the parameters. I think there are two categories. One is layout, how you integrate the power unit within the car together with the chassis.

“The other one is performance parameters, how you actually run the power unit. From the second category point of view, we are very comfortable that the FIA have already, and I think even more in the future, have in place the conditions to make sure that customer teams and factory teams work with the same parameters.

“When it comes to layout, like I said before, the conversations we are having are definitely taking this point into account. And we are confident that we should be able to get in a strong position. If it’s a matter of the final milliseconds we hope we’ll be able, through the chassis development and aerodynamics, to compensate for that.

“So we know is not the absolute best situation, but we don’t think is a decisive factor for being successful in the future.”

It’s important to stress that McLaren is not committed to Mercedes beyond 2025, and we know that there have been some discussions about using the Red Bull engine.

The one advantage the team could have is flexibility. No one knows now who will have the best PU in 2026 or if any of the manufacturers will drop the ball and take years to recover.

“From a contractual point of view you want to be protected that you will have some quality criteria of competitiveness,” says Stella. “And if these criteria are not met then you may even have the possibility to be released from the contract. So definitely this like in every good negotiation is part of the conversations we are having.”

Krack meanwhile believes that it won’t be easy for the 2026 customer teams: “There is a risk, there is definitely a risk, but I think it’s down to the PU manufacturers to open up to the customer teams to help them setting the right targets, and not come in January and fit engine onto the car.”