Two motors working together
- Combustion engine
- A 1.6-litre turbo V6 producing about 400 kW, close to 540 horsepower.
- Electric motor
- Called the MGU-K, it produces up to 350 kW, close to 470 horsepower. That is almost three times more than before 2026.
Together they reach around 1,000 horsepower. The split is now close to half and half, compared with roughly 80 to 20 until 2025.
Where the electricity comes from
Nobody plugs the car in during a race. The battery recharges while the car runs, and there are three main ways to do it:
- Braking: the electric motor works as a generator and turns braking into electricity.
- Lifting off before a corner: the car recovers energy even before the driver brakes.
- At full throttle, at the end of a straight: part of the engine power goes to charging the battery. This is known as super clipping.
Until 2025, energy was also recovered from exhaust heat by a part called the MGU-H. It was removed in 2026 to cut costs and make it easier for new manufacturers to join.
Why cars sometimes lose speed on a straight
The battery cannot last a whole lap at maximum power. When it runs out or the car starts recharging, speed drops even with the driver at full throttle. It is not a fault: it is part of managing energy.
That is why how each driver spends and recovers energy matters so much today. Most of it is automatic, with programmes chosen by the team, but the driver decides key moments with Boost and overtake mode.
How energy is used over a lap
Think of the battery as a wallet. The driver earns energy on some parts of the lap and spends it on others, and there is never enough for everything. A typical lap looks like this:
- Main straight: combustion engine and electric motor flat out. The battery drains quickly.
- Heavy braking: the electric motor recovers energy every time.
- Slow corners: the driver accelerates carefully to avoid wheelspin, and the electricity helps them get out quickly.
- End of a long straight: sometimes the car cuts the electric power and starts charging, even with the driver still at full throttle.
Engineers programme this sequence for each circuit. On tracks with lots of heavy braking it is easy to recover energy. On tracks with long straights and little braking, such as Monza, energy becomes harder to come by. That is why some circuits favour certain cars.
In races, drivers also often lift off before braking and let the car roll for a few metres. This is called lift and coast, and it saves fuel, recharges the battery and looks after the brakes.
How many engines each driver can use
An F1 engine cannot be changed whenever you like. Each driver has a limit per season for each part:
| Part | Maximum per season |
|---|---|
| Combustion engine | 3 |
| Turbo | 3 |
| Exhaust | 3 sets |
| Battery | 2 |
| Control electronics | 2 |
| Electric motor, MGU-K | 2 |
If a driver goes over, they lose grid places: 10 the first time they exceed the limit for a part and 5 after that. That is why you sometimes see a fast driver starting at the back without having done anything wrong. New manufacturers get one extra part of each type in their first years.
Who makes the engines in 2026
There are 11 teams and only five manufacturers. That is why several teams buy their engine from someone else, and that ties them partly to its performance:
| Manufacturer | Teams |
|---|---|
| Mercedes | Mercedes, McLaren, Williams, Alpine |
| Ferrari | Ferrari, Haas, Cadillac |
| Red Bull Ford | Red Bull, Racing Bulls |
| Honda | Aston Martin |
| Audi | Audi |
How it compares with a road hybrid
The idea is the same: a combustion engine and an electric motor helping each other. They also recover energy under braking, just like many hybrid cars on sale today.
The difference is the scale. An F1 car uses and recharges its battery in a matter of seconds, many times a lap, and at enormous power. It is also never plugged in during a race. Everything it spends has to be generated on track.
What each part is
When a TV broadcast mentions an engine change, it rarely means a single thing. What we call the engine is a set of parts, and each one is counted separately:
- Combustion engine
- Burns the fuel to move the car, like the engine in a road car.
- Turbo
- Uses exhaust gases to push more air into the engine and get more power out of it.
- MGU-K
- This is the electric motor. It pushes the car when accelerating and generates electricity when braking.
- Battery
- Stores electricity for use later in the lap.
- Control electronics
- The computers that decide how much energy is used and when.
A failure in any of them can end a race. And because each one has its own limit per season, a team can change just the battery without touching the rest.
How it affects the race
Managing energy has become a central part of driving an F1 car. A driver who spends the whole battery attacking can be left with no defence a lap later. Another who saves it for the end can pass several cars at once.
That is why engineers talk to them so much on the radio. They ask them to save in certain corners, keep energy for a straight or change the engine mode. An overtake is often prepared a lap or two before it happens, without anyone noticing from outside.
Qualifying has changed too. On a fast lap the aim is to use all the energy available without wasting any, and a small mistake can cost several tenths of a second on the next straight.
The fuel
Since 2026 cars use 100% sustainable fuel. It is still liquid fuel, but it does not come from newly extracted oil. The fuel energy limit is also lower than before, and no extra fuel can be added during the race.
Frequently asked questions
Can an F1 car run out of battery?
Yes, for a few seconds. But it does not stop, because the combustion engine keeps running. It simply loses a lot of power until it recharges.
Why does a driver sometimes seem slower without having made a mistake?
Often it is the energy. They may be recharging, or saving battery to defend on the next lap. Straight-line speed no longer depends only on the throttle.
Can you see how much battery a driver has?
The broadcast usually shows a charge indicator next to the speed. It helps explain why a car suddenly closes on or drops away from another in the middle of a straight, with nothing else having changed.
What happens if the electric side breaks?
The car loses close to half its power and nearly always has to retire. That is why reliability is so important.
How much power does an F1 car have?
Adding both motors together, around 1,000 horsepower. That is similar to before, but with a completely different split.