[Saba Sports News] McLaren driver Oscar Piastri slammed Formula 1’s new power units following the Belgian Grand Prix. What frustrated Piastri is the operating logic of the 2026-spec power units. The Electronic Control Unit analyses the driver’s inputs from the previous lap and autonomously adjusts energy deployment in real time on the next lap, altering the car’s straight-line top speed. Teams cannot simulate this behaviour, as the power unit makes decisions entirely independently. Piastri argued that such a system effectively means qualifying grid positions are “determined by how the computer behaves, or misbehaves”. Piastri’s struggles at Spa are also reflected in McLaren’s data, which shows a performance gap between him and teammate Lando Norris. A similar pattern has emerged within the Mercedes camp. Statistically, the discrepancies between George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli follow nearly the same trend seen between Norris and Piastri. In other words, power delivery on the two cars from the same team across different laps is largely governed by the power unit’s self-learning outputs, rather than the driver’s immediate inputs.
Adding to the confusion, Formula 1 Sporting Regulation Article B1.8.1 clearly states: “The driver must drive the car alone and unaided.” If the power unit autonomously determines how much power the car receives, can such a system still be considered “unaided”? Formula 1 now finds itself in a phase where even competitors are left confused. After the Spa weekend, that lingering sense of uncertainty still hangs heavy on Belgium’s motorsport roads — a fitting reflection of what the sport looks like in 2026. The new-generation cars remain baffling to understand, yet the championship marches forward amid all this uncertainty.