F1 2026 Power Unit Algorithms: Why FIA Won't Ban Them

Oscar Piastri put it bluntly at Spa-Francorchamps: qualifying grids being decided by computers behaving or misbehaving is, in his words, 'a pretty crap way of going racing.' It is hard to argue with him. The McLaren driver lost meaningful time on the straights during qualifying compared to team-mate Lando Norris — and McLaren initially had no explanation for the gap, despite both cars running virtually identical power unit settings.

Self-Learning Algorithms in Power Units

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella pointed to what he called the 'self-learning elements' of the power unit. This is not AI in the consumer sense, but it is forward-thinking algorithmic software that learns from lap to lap — and even within a single lap. When energy deployment deviates from the ideal, the system adapts in real time to optimise what remains. The catch: drivers do not fully control it. External variables like wind shifts and grip changes feed into the same system, meaning a driver can be genuinely surprised by their own car's behaviour.

Should Automatic Systems Be Banned

The obvious question is whether those algorithms should simply be banned, putting deployment back in the driver's hands via a steering wheel button. FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis addressed that directly, and his answer was a firm no. If drivers could fire all electrical power whenever they wanted, he argued, they would bury it all on corner exit — running out of deployment even sooner on the straight than they already do, amplifying the clipping problem rather than solving it. There are also regulatory limits on how much energy can be deployed or recovered per lap — the state-of-charge delta — specifically to prevent a battery arms race that would push car weights up further. 'I don't think humans can rationally control all of these parameters,' Tombazis said.

Piastri believes the problem is baked into the DNA of the current regulations and that even the planned 60-40 power split shift — which F1 will phase in for the 2028 season — will not eliminate it. Tombazis disagrees, at least partially. He believes the rebalancing will reduce the dependency on aggressive energy management and hand drivers slightly more meaningful control. 'Will it be eliminated completely? No, but I do think it will be a step better,' he said. He also acknowledged plainly that the 2026 regulations are more complex than the FIA would have liked.

Where this lands in the championship standings matters. Piastri sits seventh on 92 points, well adrift of leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli's 219. Norris, despite his Hungarian GP win, is fifth on 128 points. If McLaren cannot consistently unlock the same performance from both cars — and the algorithms are a live variable in that equation — the gap to Mercedes at the top of the constructors' table will only grow. That 159-point deficit is already steep. The next chance to see whether anything has shifted comes at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort — follow all the action in our race centre.