FIA President dismisses Red Bull cry for help: 'That would be unfair'

Formula 1 teams have made no secret about wanting further analysison the impact of the new 2026 power units, stemming from theincreased reliance on batteries. The fear is that the 50/50 splitbetween the combustion and electric power could lead to unwantedsituations, where drivers would have to lift on a long straight tofurther charge the battery for more power. Red Bull has been themost vocal about the plans, saying that F1 needs to "pay urgentattention before it's too late" with the regulations. Mercedes TeamPrincipal Toto Wolff has already indicated that there will be "zerochance" of the 2026 engine regulations changing . FIA PresidentMohammed Ben Sulayem emphasises that such a thing is not going tohappen. Minimal changes would still be possible, but otherwise the2026 engines will be as the rules now prescribe. "We have to take astep, we have to be brave," President Ben Sulayem told media,including RacingNews365 . "We need to stand open and move forward.It is normal for there to be resistance, but now Audi is there.Technology develops every day, so small changes, such as weight ornew material, can always be done. "No one will drop out of that. Wemake sure we keep Audi on board. We have invested a lot of time andeffort to get them to the sport and to spark Porsche's interest.No, this is not going to happen. To do something, and then changeit again, it would be unfair." Important to attract OEMs The FIAPresident is keen to keep Audi in F1 and attract other OEMmanufacturers, including General Motors. The American outfit hasindicated that it wants to be at the start of the F1 season underCadillac with its own engines in 2028, with a potential link up tothe Andretti F1 entry should it be approved. "The new engine is ourresponsibility. The FIA was already working on it before my time asPresident. I will always be grateful to our technical departmentand I will always show respect for them. When we agreed on therules, the engine suppliers also agreed," he added. "If we hadn'tdone that, Audi or Porsche would have shown no interest, just likeall other parties. You have to be open to change, because if youdon't and keep everyone in their comfort zone, then no new teamswill join."