2026 Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team

[bigblue]

i saw reports online that the ADUO is selected from ICE power only, but havent seen anything in writing. has anyone else seen anything about it yet?

I saw similar. I haven't read the rules though.

the-race.com say the following,

Only one power unit element comes into play: the internal combustion engine. And this is why it is much more complicated to unpick where each manufacturer stacks up now.

Any advantage a team has from better energy harvesting, deployment, efficiency, or more advanced management of energy (which includes control of the MGU-K or better battery technology) is totally outside the remit of what falls under the qualifying criteria for additional development opportunities.

This whole rule set seems crazier and crazier (and over-complex) to me. I suppose the electrical side is homologated and can't be changed whenever desired? To me it makes no sense to completely freeze this and say everyone's stuck with their initial efforts. I read on a forum that changing the PU between seasons is also regulated (I think it was said electrical and combustion alternate year to year), I don't know if that's true, but that also would be crazy. The optimal strategy would be to develop a good engine, run it detuned, then get ADUO to conclusively leapfrog your best competitor. I'd prefer if development was much more open, under the cost cap, else it all feels like manipulation.

[zoroastar]

i saw reports online that the ADUO is selected from ICE power only, but havent seen anything in writing. has anyone else seen anything about it yet?

I saw similar. I haven't read the rules though.

the-race.com say the following,

Only one power unit element comes into play: the internal combustion engine. And this is why it is much more complicated to unpick where each manufacturer stacks up now.

Any advantage a team has from better energy harvesting, deployment, efficiency, or more advanced management of energy (which includes control of the MGU-K or better battery technology) is totally outside the remit of what falls under the qualifying criteria for additional development opportunities.

This whole rule set seems crazier and crazier (and over-complex) to me. I suppose the electrical side is homologated and can't be changed whenever desired? To me it makes no sense to completely freeze this and say everyone's stuck with their initial efforts. I read on a forum that changing the PU between seasons is also regulated (I think it was said electrical and combustion alternate year to year), I don't know if that's true, but that also would be crazy. The optimal strategy would be to develop a good engine, run it detuned, then get ADUO to conclusively leapfrog your best competitor. I'd prefer if development was much more open, under the cost cap, else it all feels like manipulation.

yeah you would think that when they are going into a new formula they may lay off the penalties for using too many components too. the teams that make the rules (and supply half the grid with engines) want to protect their edge for as long as they can, so its like moving mountains to catch up when your team cant get its sh$t together in the beginning.

its all a big convoluted mountain of garbage as far as im concerned. f1 seem ready to toss the real competitive parts of the sport and turn it into a popularity contest on social media. luckily the drivers are talking and the fans arent stupid. i can understand that its always a risk with new rules, but weve been hearing how it was gonna be for 2 years now. formula 1 just wanted to force it down everybodies throats.

the electric side of the PU must be fairly similar as far as components. basically, the batteries are just there being charged and depleted. the icu is the constant power source, and the mguk, control electronics and software are dealing with charging and draining the batteries. i may be wrong, but i assume that the software is the really crucial performance difference in the electric side as long as the mguk is working correctly. and software is probably being ironed out constantly. the team with the most ICU power will have an advantage in charging and recharging though. so it all comes back to the ICU. so it sort of makes sense..

[diffuser]

i saw reports online that the ADUO is selected from ICE power only, but havent seen anything in writing. has anyone else seen anything about it yet?

I saw similar. I haven't read the rules though.

the-race.com say the following,

Only one power unit element comes into play: the internal combustion engine. And this is why it is much more complicated to unpick where each manufacturer stacks up now.

Any advantage a team has from better energy harvesting, deployment, efficiency, or more advanced management of energy (which includes control of the MGU-K or better battery technology) is totally outside the remit of what falls under the qualifying criteria for additional development opportunities.

This whole rule set seems crazier and crazier (and over-complex) to me. I suppose the electrical side is homologated and can't be changed whenever desired? To me it makes no sense to completely freeze this and say everyone's stuck with their initial efforts. I read on a forum that changing the PU between seasons is also regulated (I think it was said electrical and combustion alternate year to year), I don't know if that's true, but that also would be crazy. The optimal strategy would be to develop a good engine, run it detuned, then get ADUO to conclusively leapfrog your best competitor. I'd prefer if development was much more open, under the cost cap, else it all feels like manipulation.

The thing is, the electrical side’s power output and regeneration are limited. Anything preventing you from achieving those numbers would likely fall under reliability. Also, the electrical regulations don’t say “go crazy—make as much HP and recovery as possible.” All you really have to work with is efficiency, which is already quite high. Meanwhile, on the ICE side, Honda has said they didn’t achieve their own horsepower goals from combustion and there is no limit except the limit of science.

It's kind of backward when you consider that the ICE is slowly fading in history.