"Cars will sound like a tuned out Honda civic"- Fans react to F1's power unit regulations for 2026 season

The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council has approved the new F1 power unit regulations for the 2026 season. These regulations will focus on sustainability and cost-efficiency, among other things.

According to a statement by the FIA, the new sporting, technical, and financial regulations follow four key pillars:

• Maintaining the spectacle – The 2026 Power Unit will have similar performance to the current designs, utilizing high-power, high-revving V6 internal combustion engines and avoiding excessive performance differentiation to allow for improved raceability.
• Environmental sustainability – The 2026 Power Unit will increase the deployment of electrical power to up to 50% and utilize a 100% sustainable fuel.
• Financial Sustainability – The financial regulations will reduce the overall costs for competitors while retaining the cutting-edge technological showcase that is at the core of Formula 1.
• Attractive to new power unit manufacturers – The regulations aim to make the competitive sport accessible and attractive to newcomers.

---

F1's power-unit regulations for 2026 season get mixed reactions from fans

While some fans were on board with the new Formula 1 power unit regulations, others were not too happy and vented their frustrations on Twitter.

Here are some of the best reactions to the news:

"So in other words a smaller engine. Can't believe F1 cars will sound like a tuned out Honda civic."

"Stop this, we already have formula E. F1 has completely lost the identity"

"By 2026, hardly anyone will be buying road cars with engines, so these engines/fuels will be mostly irrelevant. The biggest change that needs to happen is remove the turbos from F1. I'm sick being able to hear the crowds cheering over the cars at the starts. It's just plain WRONG!"

"2026 is in less than 3.5 years. You're delusional if you think that's achievable."

"F1 forgot these are racing cars not the one I have to use to go to work. Don't need the SPORT to be green, we need a sustainable calendar which reduces the use of jets and stupid logistics and not going to places where Human Rights are trash. Thank you"

"Let's try this again, and hopefully @F1 won't be bull-headed this time. With the increase in Fans to Formula 1 due to @netflix Drive to Survive, I thought I could help new fans understand Formula 1 a little better."

"This sounds like a step forward. Glad to see the continued efforts on sustainability. I hope that some of the electrical power can be used for a push to pass type system, similar to IndyCar and the original KERS. It would be great to be able to get rid of DRS."

The approval of the new regulations is expected to pave the way for the likes of Porsche and Audi to make their long-awaited entry into Formula 1 official.