McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believes Formula 1 needs significant power unit modifications to address current performance issues, but warns that major hardware changes are unlikely to be implemented before the 2028 season due to development timelines. The Italian emphasizes that while sporting regulation adjustments have shown modest improvements since their introduction at the Miami Grand Prix, more substantial alterations to the actual power unit components will be necessary to properly fix the formula.
Following F1’s recent agreement on initial regulatory refinements aimed at improving qualifying spectacle and reducing extreme closing speeds during early 2026 rules testing, the sport is now considering deeper structural changes. These potential modifications include increasing fuel flow rates to extract more horsepower from internal combustion engines, installing larger battery systems to prevent energy depletion, and potentially reducing downforce levels to decrease energy consumption during cornering.
Stella, whose team utilizes Mercedes customer engines, specifically advocates for boosting fuel flow to enhance ICE power output and increasing energy harvesting capabilities beyond the current 350kW limit to potentially 400kW or 450kW. “Hardware adjustments to the power unit in order to improve Formula 1 in general, I personally think are required,” Stella told Autosport. “They will have to do realistically with the fuel flow to increase the power from the internal combustion engine.”
However, the McLaren chief acknowledges that implementing such changes for 2027 presents significant challenges for power unit manufacturers. Current engines are not designed to handle increased fuel flow rates, and modifications would create downstream effects on fuel tank design and chassis architecture, with several teams already committed to maintaining their current chassis for next season. The extended development timelines required for battery enlargement and fuel flow system modifications make 2028 the earliest realistic target for implementation.
Stella is pushing for F1 stakeholders to finalize these discussions before the summer break to provide manufacturers sufficient development time for 2028 implementation. “I would urge that possibly this conversation needs to be finalised before the summer break to be in time to do it for 2028,” he stated. The McLaren boss remains optimistic that while F1 has successfully optimized current engine exploitation, extracting maximum potential from existing regulations will require these fundamental hardware modifications.