McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has called on Formula 1 to delay planned power unit changes until 2028, arguing that power unit manufacturers need more lead time to implement hardware modifications that could solve fundamental performance issues plaguing the 2026 regulations.
Last week, the FIA confirmed adjustments to the 2027 season following difficulties with the 2026 power unit regulations. The original 50-50 split between internal combustion engine and electric power — designed to attract new manufacturers like Audi and GM — created an unintended consequence: when the 350kW battery capacity depletes, cars revert to ICE-only power, causing dramatic performance drops known as super-clipping.
Pre-Miami rule tweaks allowed teams to super-clip to charge batteries up to the full 350kW capacity, removing the previous 250kW limit. But Stella believes the sport can go further with deeper hardware changes — if given proper time to execute them.
Stella Proposes Battery and Fuel Flow Upgrades
“Hardware adjustments to the power units in order to improve F1 in general, I think, personally, are required,” Stella told media. “They realistically have to do with the fuel flow to increase the power from the internal combustion engine and harvesting more power than you deploy, because you are spending so much more time deploying electrical power rather than harvesting it.”
The McLaren boss outlined a specific technical path forward: increase harvesting capacity from the current 350kW to 400kW or even 450kW, creating a harvesting-deployment energy offset. This would require larger batteries. Simultaneously, increasing fuel flow from the ICE would boost overall power output and close the performance gap created when batteries run dry.
The 2026 power units — featuring roughly 50% electric contribution compared to the 80-20 ICE-electric split in 2025 — were conceived to entice new entrants. Audi joins the grid in 2026, Honda returns as a works supplier, and Ford partners with Red Bull Powertrains. General Motors is developing a works unit for Cadillac from 2029, with the American team running Ferrari customer power until then.
2027 Timeline Too Tight for Hardware Changes
Stella emphasized that implementing battery size increases and higher fuel flow capacity cannot realistically happen for 2027 given current development timelines. Power unit manufacturers are already deep into their 2027 specifications, and the scale of hardware changes required — larger battery cells, revised fuel systems, updated cooling architecture — demands longer lead times than the months remaining before 2027 homologation deadlines.
“If I think about these requirements from a hardware point of view, and see things from the perspective of our power unit manufacturers, it is difficult for 2027 because the implication for the battery size and coping with higher fuel flow requires longer lead times than the time available to go into 2027,” Stella said.
The Italian believes a decision must come before the summer break to allow manufacturers sufficient runway for a 2028 introduction. “I would urge that this conversation needs to be finalised before the summer break to be in time to do it for 2028, and definitely I would hope that is is the case,” he continued.
Balancing Regulation Stability with Performance Fixes
Stella acknowledged that F1 has made progress extracting performance from the existing 2026 regulations through software optimisation and operational adjustments. But he sees untapped potential that software alone cannot unlock.
“Whilst we have done a good job as an F1 community of looking at constantly improving the exploitation of the engine with what is available, I think we can extract more out of these regulations, but this will need some hardware tweaks,” Stella said.
The McLaren principal’s comments add pressure on F1’s governance structure — the FIA, Formula One Management, and the power unit manufacturers — to commit to a technical roadmap before teams break for summer. With the first races of the 2026 season still months away, Stella is positioning for a future where the sport avoids locking itself into regulations that underdeliver on racing quality.
The next major technical working group meetings are expected in June, with the summer break beginning in early August following the Belgian Grand Prix on August 2, 2026.