Ex-Red Bull F1 stars raise HUGE concerns about 2026 car design

F1 Superstars

Ex-Red Bull stars raise HUGE concerns about 2026 car design

Mark Webber and David Coulthard have spoken out about new regulations

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 16 July 2024 14:57

Two former Red Bull Formula 1 drivers have raised concerns about 2026 cars, with new regulations set to sweep into the sport.

A major regulation overhaul will see F1 become more environmentally friendly, as well as promoting better racing action through making the cars smaller, lighter and altering power unit rules to make them more reliant on battery power.

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The new engines will also be able to run on fully sustainable fuels, helping the sport to achieve its net zero targets by the scheduled 2030.

However, the huge changes have been criticised by many drivers and pundits, including three-time world champion Max Verstappen who recently said they were: "not how I would have written them."

Concerns over 2026 regulations

Red Bull in particular have been rumoured to be behind in their preparations for 2026, with the Milton Keynes-based outfit ending their power unit partnership with Honda in order to produce their own power units.

Former Red Bull star David Coulthard, who scored two podiums with the team at the end of his career, has now had his say on the new regulations, raising major concerns in an interview with PlanetF1.

"I have a concern that I feel is shared by the engineers and drivers that as we increase them to a 50/50 electrical, internal combustion that changes the profile of the lap and how the cars develop.

"In classic racing terms, your Vmax (maximum velocity) is at the end of the straights and then you brake into the corner.

"There is the potential reality that they’ll accelerate, and then they’ll start decelerating towards the braking zone so your Vmax will be somewhere around the middle of the straight, which is a different way of racing.

"They will all race it, the best drivers will win, the best teams will win. But how we perceive [it will change].

"If they’re slower at the braking zone, they’ll brake later. So we could end up with a shorter braking distance which may be detrimental to overtaking – so Daniel Ricciardo’s dives on the inside may not happen."

Nine-time grand prix winner Mark Webber, who raced alongside Coulthard at Red Bull in 2007 and 2008, suggested that the cars would still be way too heavy, despite a conscious effort to make them lighter.

"The weight is a big problem," he also told PlanetF1. "I mean, they’re just too heavy.

"All the drivers would love the cars to be lighter and when you put in another 20 kilos in, you’ve got to put more weight in to make it safer.

"30 kilos less is like one string on a tennis racket. It’s nothing. So they need to really try to get 150 kilos out of the car in the future."

F1 Red Bull Mercedes Verstappen Ricciardo Marko