An unlikely name has emerged as the obstacle to Formula 1's effort to fix its unloved 2026 engines for next year: Audi. And the standoff could ultimately decide whether Max Verstappen stays in the sport.
Verstappen has tied his future to the championship pushing through a planned reworking of the current power units for 2027. Today's engines are split close to 50/50 between combustion and electric power, putting enormous weight on energy management and producing position-swapping racing that much of the paddock finds unsatisfying.
The proposed remedy would raise fuel flow and trim the MGU-K's qualifying output to move the balance nearer 60/40 in favour of the V6, possibly with extra battery capacity, to make the cars more predictable. An agreement in principle was reached between the Miami and Canadian rounds.
Then came the complication. Reworking the engine rules for 2027 needs four of six manufacturers to form a supermajority on the power unit advisory committee, and as it stands only Mercedes and Red Bull are committed to that timeline, according to The Race. Audi's reluctance is said to be financial — a programme potentially exceeding 10 million dollars is hard to square with a budget cap for a team still establishing itself. Ferrari, meanwhile, wants to protect the new ADO catch-up mechanism it sees as its path back to Mercedes. Honda is viewed as more flexible, and Cadillac's General Motors also has reservations.
Verstappen's stance has sharpened. Having opened the Canada weekend calling the proposal "the minimum I was hoping for," he later left no room for doubt: "It's just not mentally doable for me to stay like this." Those close to him say he means it, with no interest in a sabbatical.
His verdict on the engines was scathing. "The whole energy management stuff is just a joke. It's super painful," he said after qualifying. "You try to push more, then you have less energy. It has nothing to do with racing for me."
McLaren's Andrea Stella agrees the Miami tweaks helped without curing the root problem, and argues that blocking change is a mistake. Red Bull's Laurent Mékies is reported to believe common sense will win out. The FIA has held off on a formal vote it knows it would lose, betting it can still bring Audi — and then Honda — on side to unlock the four votes required. Time, however, is short.
