2026 Drama: Alleged engine loophole

[lio007]

Ben Hodgkinson: a lot of noise about nothing

Ahead of the season launch, Red Bull Powertrains director Ben Hodgkinson told a select group of media, including Motorsport.com, that he is convinced Red Bull's new power unit is within the regulations.
“I think there's some nervousness from various power unit manufacturers that there might be some clever engineering going on in some teams,” he said. “I'm not quite sure how much of it to listen to, to be honest. I've been doing this a very long time and it's almost just noise. You just have to play your own race really.

“I know what we're doing, and I'm confident that what we're doing is legal. Of course, we've taken it right to the very limit of what the regulations allow. I'd be surprised if everyone hasn't done that. My honest feeling is that it's a lot of noise about nothing. I expect everyone's going to be sitting at 16, that's what I really expect.”

In general terms, Hodgkinson is not impressed by the compression ratio as it is included in the new PU rules. In his view, scaling it back for 2026 was a completely unnecessary step.
“From a purely technical point of view the compression ratio limit is too low,” he explained. “We have the technology to make the combustion fast enough, so the compression ratio is way too low. We could make 18:1 work with the speed of combustion that we've managed to get, which means there's performance in every tenth of a ratio that you can get. Every manufacturer should really be aiming at 15.999 as far as they dare when it's measured.”

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/red- ... /10790337/

[Badger]

I guess that confirms that RBPT has designed its engine to be right at 16:1 when cold, but to go above that under operating conditions. Whether that is the full extent of this rumoured "trick" or if there are more intricate parts to it only time will tell. He doesn't seem too concerned about it though, so either he doesn't think it's a big deal or he's in on the trick.

[Hoffman900]

Every engine on the planet has a slightly higher compression when running than what it is measured when cold.

It’s semantics, imo. I do agree a decrease was foolish.

[AR3-GP]

I guess that confirms that RBPT has designed its engine to be right at 16:1 when cold, but to go above that under operating conditions. Whether that is the full extent of this rumoured "trick" or if there are more intricate parts to it only time will tell. He doesn't seem too concerned about it though, so either he doesn't think it's a big deal or he's in on the trick.

I wouldn't expect any team to admit to something like this.

[Badger]

I guess that confirms that RBPT has designed its engine to be right at 16:1 when cold, but to go above that under operating conditions. Whether that is the full extent of this rumoured "trick" or if there are more intricate parts to it only time will tell. He doesn't seem too concerned about it though, so either he doesn't think it's a big deal or he's in on the trick.

I wouldn't expect any team to admit to something like this.

Admit what?

[AR3-GP]

I guess that confirms that RBPT has designed its engine to be right at 16:1 when cold, but to go above that under operating conditions. Whether that is the full extent of this rumoured "trick" or if there are more intricate parts to it only time will tell. He doesn't seem too concerned about it though, so either he doesn't think it's a big deal or he's in on the trick.

I wouldn't expect any team to admit to something like this.

Admit what?

Any trick to increase compression ratio. If he's "in on it", he would never say publically.

[Badger]

I wouldn't expect any team to admit to something like this.

Admit what?

Any trick to increase compression ratio. If he's "in on it", he would never say publically.

Well he has just heavily implied that they will be running the engine above 16:1 at operating temperatures, so he did say something of interest which has been contested in this thread. He also implied that they are pushing the compression as much as possible because it's free performance. Whether there is some special trick that allows you to get closer to 18:1 I am not convinced, seems difficult to get that far through thermal expansion with the limitations on available metals. Any other solution would likely show up in the ambient test.

[AR3-GP]

It seems like autoracer is just playing armchair quarterback. If you said last week that Red Bull doesn't have it, why retweet every fresh quote from Red Bull as if you didn't already know?



This sounds naive:

[AR3-GP]

RB's position on the subject seems a little bit defensive. Never outright condemning the subject, even suggesting there is nothing to see here and everybody knows what the materials are.

HODKINSON: "Thermal expansion and the way it can affect compression are tied to the material of the monoblock/rod. The regulation is very clear (monoblock in aluminum or iron alloy, rod in titanium or iron alloy). I don't understand why everyone is so worked up."

Every manufacturer should really be aiming at 15.999 as far as they dare when it's measured.”

No one is going to admit anything. This is Formula 1.

[vorticism]

Worth noting the Hodkinson is talking about the thermal expansion rumor. Not Nugnes' 'second combustion chamber' rumor.

[Badger]

Second combustion chamber Nugnes is just vomiting nonsense, he has nothing of value to add. I suspect "Autoracer" is of similar credibility. Italian F1 media will invent their own stories or run with unsubstantiated rumours.

I am starting to doubt the validity of this entire story TBH. If it's not thermal expansion, and that seems increasingly unlikely given what we know about the materials allowed, what can it really be that wouldn't show up at ambient temperatures? Someone obviously queried the FIA on the test, hence the clarified formulation of the rule to say "at ambient temperatures", but maybe that's where the real story ends and the rumours of insane tricks begin.

[AR3-GP]

Red Bull Powertrains chief Ben Hodgkinson is adamant that his team have not done anything wrong, as their engine design satisfies the “super clear” wording of the 2026 F1 regulations. Hodgkinson also feels any rival engineers who did not spot the loophole do not belong in F1.

“It’s frustrating, really, some of this stuff,” Hodgkinson said, via The Telegraph. “For me as an engineer, it’s frustrating that the press has got hold of this.

“I think any engineer worth their salt who doesn’t understand about thermal expansion doesn’t belong in this sport. Doesn’t deserve to be an engineer, really.

“Almost every material changes with temperature. So, it’s understanding how materials behave in different temperatures, pressures, stresses [and] loads. That’s literally our job.

“The regulations are super, super clear about compression ratio. You’ve got a 16-to-1 limit. The regulations say that 16-to-1 is measured in a very specific way.

“There’s a document that describes exactly how you measure it. And it has to be measured at ambient temperature. So, it’s super clear.”

https://www.f1oversteer.com/news/red-bu ... ity-claim/

[Hoffman900]

I’m frustrated for them.

The rods stretch and things heat up. Every race engine is built with net zero piston to head clearance when running, and redline might be 300-500rpm below where the rod stretches enough that the piston / head contact each other with enough force to cause damage. This is how everyone from serious weekend warrior racers to NASCAR to F1 teams set up their engines, and have for 60+ years.

You set them up somewhere around 1-1.5mm gap cold (depends on how fast you’re spinning it, piston / pin / ring weight, rod material and design, etc), knowing it’s going to be near zero at redline. Usually 0.1mm or less running clearance. This is just race engine 101 stuff. Almost always, the closer you can get it / run it without causing damage, the more power you make.

These F1 reporters are really just not good at all, especially Nugnes who has a history of showing he has no idea what he’s talking about.

In our world, most sanctioning bodies use this to measure compression ratio:
https://katechengines.com/i-30497781-ka ... ester.html

Instructions:

https://katechengines.com/pdf/183924

If you fail this, then you get torn down and they actually measure it. But again, this is always cold. That 1mm P-H clearance cold is more like .1mm near redline, but everyone knows this, it is what it is, the head being in the way is the ultimate stop.

[Juzh]

I will say it's a pleasure to read some actual quotes from a reputable person with extensive knowledge on the subject matter (Hodgkinson) instead of all the puke inducing speculation being pushed by nearly every single media outlet out there.

[dren]

lol read up about the SR71 design and thermal expansion.