Andy Cowell believes F1’s 2026 rule changes will be less drastic than 2014, but key technical shifts could still reshape the competitive landscape.
The introduction of new engine regulations in 2026 raises concerns that a team or manufacturer could dominate the season entirely. However, Andy Cowell, former head of Mercedes’ engine department and new team principal of Aston Martin F1, assures that this is not the case and that the changes are less significant than those seen with the arrival of hybrid V6 engines in 2014.
“Whenever there is a regulation change, there is an opportunity to do better than others,” Cowell stated. “It is essentially a reset. However, the shift from 2013 to 2014 in engine regulations was quite dramatic, moving from naturally aspirated engines to turbocharging, with the addition of the MGU-H battery and the MGU-K.”
“In contrast, between 2025 and 2026, the MGU-H is being removed, the turbo is more complex, the battery is larger, the engine is bigger, and the fuel flow rate is lower, which presents a major challenge for fuel. I’m not sure this constitutes as drastic a change. It’s more of an adaptation of what is being raced today.”
“It may be a bit of an overstatement. But I think the challenge lies in the fact that there are changes in aerodynamics regulations, power unit regulations, and tires. And when you put all these differences together, they could end up spreading the field further apart.”
Cowell notes that this is the first time such an interaction between two sets of regulations has occurred: “In reality, I don’t recall another time in Formula 1 when both chassis and engine regulations were modified simultaneously. And in this case, the chassis regulations have largely been written to try to compensate, let’s say, for the engine regulations.”
“So, it adds an extra dimension. I think engine manufacturers will have learned to some extent from how unprepared Mercedes’ rivals were before the last change [in 2014], but there is still a chance that a manufacturer will get it right and that the regulations will end up being dominated by power units, at least in the early stages.”
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F1 2026: Why Cowell Sees Evolution, Not Revolution F1 2026: Why Cowell Sees Evolution, Not Revolution
