F1 must end its road relevance chase for good

Formula 1 seems to be making heavy weather of getting itself out of the knot it has put itself in with the 2026 regulations.The underlying problem inherent in having too heavy an electrical contribution to the power unit is amazingly easy to solve – and well understood. The problem is just political and philosophical.”We cannot be hostage to automotive companies,” said FIA single-seater director Niklas Tombazis recently. Single-seater technical director Jan Monchaux followed that up with an acknowledgement that ideally there needs to be a much bigger internal combustion engine contribution to the power unit’s output, directly implying that the 50/50 target set by the manufacturers was just way too ambitious.Electrical power and downforce just do not mix. The energy required to push a draggy, downforce-producing single-seater throug …