Honda has returned to F1 as a works partner of Aston Martin, with the new partnership’s season getting off to something of a rocky start. However, the abilities of Honda’s teams in Sakura City in Japan and Milton Keynes in the UK should never be underestimated, as its comeback in the last rules cycle to provide a multiple championship-winning power unit proved.

PMW Magazine gained an exclusive audience with Honda Racing’s Shintaro Orihara, trackside general manager and chief engineer. Speaking in Bahrain pre-season, he was under no illusions as to the difficulties the new regulations present to a power unit manufacturer.

Top of the list of challenges is handling a 350kW MGU-K with a relatively tiny energy store. “The MGU-K power is massive, but the battery volume is the same as the last regulations,” Orihara explained. “It has become much more difficult to manage the energy, so we need to harvest as much as possible and deploy as much as possible.”

The resulting demands on the energy store, and the management of its energy content, are therefore much greater than before. “The battery SoC swings a lot and also, the power difference between MGU-K on and off is a huge difference. Where we deliver max power, that is a very difficult point,” he said.

Of course, none of this is news, and Honda has been working extensively off-track to nail this balancing act, but it was only once cars were on track in Bahrain that the subtleties became apparent. “We learned this is a very unique regulation through this winter testing. So now we are learning a lot in terms of energy management, that is most challenging for us. The lap time sensitivity [around energy management] is much higher than last year.”

Orihara said that athough much preparation work was undertaken prior to the power unit’s track debut at the Barcelona test, “discussion and actual operation is quite different”. However, he was happy that both parties are approaching the development of the trackside and operational relationship with an open mind.

Works relationship

As a works partner, Honda has been closely integrated with the Aston Martin F1 Team through the build-up to 2026. So how has this working relationship developed, particularly given the presence of Adrian Newey, a designer known to place great importance on tight packaging of the powertrain for aero performance?

According to Orihara, Honda’s in-house development work began back in 2023, with the Aston Martin partnership getting underway soon after. “The power unit has been developed with the team, because the power unit design comes from the car demand,” he explained, with the caveat: “Adrian Newey had a lot of requirements and Honda was keen to listen to those demands and meet those demands as much as possible. We have spent three years [on this] and I think the relationship is quite strong.”

But how do you balance the design intent of someone like Adrian Newey and the practical realities of producing a reliable power unit with the correct performance?

“It’s a good question,” mused Orihara. “It’s important to find the compromise point. But Adrian Newey is the best designer, and if the demand comes from Adrian Newey, Honda will respect that demand as much as possible. Sometimes, if it is impossible from a reliability viewpoint, we may say no. But, if we see a negative performance effect but total [car] performance is increased by the demand, we will respect the demand. It [power unit design] is defined by lap time demand, but also by Adrian demand.”  

Combustion challenges 

Looking at the ICE side of the power unit, Ohirhra singled out the loss of the MGU-H as “a complete game changer”. Previously, he said maximising H performance was everything, as increased output enabled longer deployment of the MGU-K throughout a lap. “If we increased engine performance but that meant we lost MGU-H performance, then we couldn’t use that technology,” he said. “With the new regulations, and no MGU-H, we only need to focus on improving engine performance.”

Ohirhra also pointed to the still-present challenge of maximizing combustion efficiency with the added complication of working with 100% sustainable fuel: “The performance mainly comes from combustion, and for combustion performance, it is important that we can burn the fuel correctly, how we get energy from the fuel.” While there has always been a close relationship between power unit manufacturers and fuel partners, the ties are closer than ever before.

“It is not only doing the testing, but we also need a very open mind to show them our dyno data,” Ohirhra said. “For example, normally on the dyno, we measure combustion pressure, which is super, super confidential, we are [now] sharing that type of information.”

Related, F1 2026 tech hub

The post Exclusive interview: Honda’s Shintaro Orihara on the team’s 2026 F1 power unit appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

Honda rejoins Formula 1 this year as a power unit supplier with the Aston Martin team. Heading up its trackside operations is Shintaro Orihara, who has been the Japanese manufacturer for over 20 years.

You’ve worked at Honda for decades now, why did you want to join the company in the first place?
When I was in junior high school, I watched F1 on TV and something that stood out were the McLarens with their Honda-powered cars. From that moment onwards, I knew that I wanted to join Honda and be a part of this incredible sport. I started there in 2003 and, for the first 10 years, I worked on road-going projects. Despite this, my love and passion for F1 didn’t fade and the hard work paid off. In 2013, I transferred to the racing side of the business and reached my dreams. During this time, I could learn the tricks of F1 engineering and live some intense moments of adversity but ultimately some glorious memories and wonderful times. I can confidently say that Honda and F1 are a part of my life.

What are your responsibilities as F1 Trackside General Manager and Chief Engineer?
My role is vast and varied but, ultimately, I make the final decisions at the track relating to the power unit. I also manage all the trackside members from Honda Racing Corporation from a management viewpoint to make sure that our power units are ready.

Before departing for the race, we have a series of meetings with our colleagues in Sakura in Japan to check the situation and plan for the event. Usually, we travel early in the week so that when we arrive at track, the engine conditions after maintenance can be checked. On site, I will fine tune the plan with the engineers for the weekend, evaluating our options and scenarios depending on the conditions. Once we’ve done this, there’ll be a meeting with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team engineers to go through every detail, ensuring we’re fully integrated.

When the sessions start, the car’s PU is mainly operated by other Honda personnel. It’s my job to look at the big picture and what is happening overall. I will be making the decisions and communicating with the team via radio.
At the end of each day, we’ll hold an internal PU meeting on site and with our colleagues in the control room in Sakura. We will review what happened and put countermeasures in place if we encountered any issues. This is then reported to and discussed with the team, to make sure we’re aligned.

The Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team is a key component in Honda’s Formula 1 activity. What work do you do with them? What are the targets?
2026 is the first year that we’re learning with Aston Martin Aramco at the track. Although the partnership was announced in 2023, everything has been based on theory and simulations, so there is a lot of anticipation for testing.

So, the first target is to build the fundamental relationship between the two parties trackside and second is to accumulate mileage and gather data, understanding how the RA626H power unit works in the AMR26.

What are your thoughts ahead of the first official F1 test in Bahrain?
It’s been a long time coming, quite frankly speaking. Years of development and hard work culminates with this. Sakura, HRC UK and Aston Martin Aramco have been working tirelessly to develop, plan and build.
The Barcelona Shakedown was a pivotal moment in our relationship and a good step in the right direction. Our next target is to accumulate mileage with our power unit to confirm engine reliability and to check all functions.
We’re looking forward to seeing how the package behaves – car and power unit – as one machine.

The post Q&A with Honda’s Shintaro Orihara appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

F1 is undergoing its biggest regulation shift this century – or possibly ever. The sport has seen significant changes in the past, including the aerodynamic rules dictating the current cars, and the huge technological jump of the 2014 powertrain regulations. However, in both those cases, it was either chassis or power unit that was altered, whereas 2026 will see wholesale change across chassis, power unit, tires and aerodynamics.

The key aims of the new rules are to enable closer racing and, to a degree, keep costs – particularly for the power unit – in check. The new rules will see cars get smaller, with the wheelbase reduced from 3,600mm to 3,400mm, and the track down from 2,000mm to 1,900mm; tire sizes are also reduced, while the minimum weight will fall from the current 800kg to 768kg.

The aerodynamics are also set for an overhaul, with the technical regulations defined to try to harness the gains made with the 2022 regulations regarding wake management. They also aim to eliminate the behavior that led to issues with ‘porpoising’ due to the sensitivity of the underfloor tunnels to variations in ride height. This means that tunnels are out, with a return to flat floors and diffusers.

Significantly, rear and now front wings will feature moveable elements, to reduce drag and account for the very different nature of power delivery from the revised ICE and hybrid systems. Though the basic architecture of the ICE remains, thermal energy recovery is no more. The MGU-H is banned, fuel flow limits have been replaced by an energy use formula, and the power of the MGU-K will be upped from the current 120kW to 350kW. In this feature, we will endeavor to understand the impact of these changes and how various teams across the grid are approaching the new era.

2026 F1 Car by Car

Alpine A526

Aston Martin AMR26

Aston Martin takes on Honda power for 2026, while the AMR26 is the first of its F1 cars to be truly influenced by the pen of Adrian Newey. When the car rolled out in Barcelona, it was immediately clear the team had taken a relatively extreme interpretation of the aerodynamic regulations.

According to Newey, “We took a really close look at the regulations and what we believe we want to achieve from a flow field perspective to suit them, and from there started to evolve a geometry that attempts to create the flow fields that we want. It’s very much a holistic approach……but, in truth, with a completely new set of regulations, nobody is ever sure what the right philosophy is.”Newey also note that, “Yes. The car is tightly packaged. Much more tightly packaged than I believe has been attempted at Aston Martin Aramco before.” However, when compared to some of the other cars in the field, it appears, to the casual observer at least, relatively bulky.

With the development of its new Silverstone Technology Campus, Aston now has wind-tunnel capabilities in-house for the first time, having previously used both the Mercedes wind tunnel and lately, the TMG facility in Cologne.

“The AMR Technology Campus is still evolving, the CoreWeave Wind Tunnel wasn’t on song until April, and I only joined the team last March, so we’ve started from behind, in truth. It’s been a very compressed timescale and an extremely busy 10 months,” says Newey.

“The reality is that we didn’t get a model of the ’26 car into the wind tunnel until mid-April, whereas most, if not all of our rivals would have had a model in the wind tunnel from the moment the 2026 aero testing ban ended at the beginning of January last year. That put us on the back foot by about four months, which has meant a very, very compressed research and design cycle. The car only came together at the last minute, which is why we were fighting to make it to the Barcelona Shakedown.”

According to Newey, the intent with the car has been to build a car with development potential, rather than one optimized for a tight performance window from the outset. “We’ve tried to do the opposite, which is why we’ve really focused on the fundamentals, put our effort into those, knowing that some of the appendages – wings, bodywork, things that can be changed in season – will hopefully have development potential.”

Audi R26

Cadillac

Ferrari SF26

Ferrari arrived at the second test in Bahrain with a very interesting addition to the rear crash structure, a winglet directly behind the exhaust, exploiting a loophole in the regulation geometry boxes. 

Haas VF-26

For Davide Paganelli, head of aero at Haas, the VF-26’s performance isn’t tied to a single element. Instead, it is a game of management. “It’s the management of the floor of the car from a coherent point of view,” Paganelli explains, “starting from the front wing through suspension and the bodywork in order to be able to feed as much as possible with good high-energy flow the rear”.

He notes that the front wing remains the primary tool for setting the car’s aerodynamic behaviour. Teams are currently split on their approach: whether to load the wing more toward the center or the outboard side to manage the wake of the front wheels. With the rules written so as to force in-washing of the wake, the goal of every team is to try and minimise the damage this cause to flow further down the car. Like in the pre-ground effect era, the goal is to retain as much high energy airflow towards the rear of the car as possible, helping to drive the diffuser.

The 2026 Power Units (PUs) have introduced a significant shift in thermal architecture, with a much greater emphasis on the electrical component. While one might assume this requires a radical cooling overhaul, Paganelli views it as a familiar challenge of scale. “The challenge is the same… you try to maximize your heat rejection keeping the volume and the weight as small as possible,” he notes.

The real divergence on the grid is seen in radiator packaging and the shaping of the sidepod inlets. However, the true complexity, says Paganelli, lies in the brake ducts. With high energy recovery from the electrical system, teams must precisely simulate energy management to correctly size the ducts within the tight geometric constraints of the wheel rims, as the design of the external ducts is tightly controlled.

Perhaps the most discussed feature of the new regulations is the move toward active aerodynamics on both the front and rear wings. For Haas, the hurdle isn’t just the mechanism, but the car’s balance in “straight-line mode.” “The main challenge is… to have a car that is drivable also in straight-line mode because the amount of loads that we lose activating both the wings is huge”.

This shift will likely change how teams approach wing levels across a season. Paganelli predicts that the days of bringing six different rear wing specifications to suit various tracks may be over, as the straight-line mode allows for a broader operating window for a single design.

Despite the early-season variety—such as some teams opting for a “high rake” philosophy reminiscent of the period up until 2022—Paganelli expects the grid to converge quickly. Unlike the hidden complexities of the under-floor, the bodywork and wing activation devices of the cars are visible to all. “It’s not like in the floor, that was a sort of hidden area difficult to be observed [driving the performance].”

However, the rapid pace of development is tempered by the budget cap and ATR (Aerodynamic Testing Restrictions). For Haas, the limitation isn’t just wind tunnel hours, but the capacity to run multiple projects in parallel. Having invested heavily in the late-season package for the VF-25, the team is now focused on the iterative refinement of a car where every square centimeter of carbon fiber must earn its keep.

Mclaren MCL40

Greene Tweed develops advanced MSE seals for McLaren Formula 1

Mercedes W17

Racing Bulls VCARB03

Red Bull RB22

Williams FW48

Williams had a hesitant start to 2026, missing the pre-season shakedown in Barcelona, while rumours swirled of an overweight car and missed crash tests. As it turns out, these were just that, rumour, and talking on the first day of pre-season testing proper in Bahrain, team principal James Vowels was upbeat about the the teams progress. Despite missing the initial shakedown, he says, “in lieu of that, we did a full week of VTT (Virtual Track Testing) running where we did quite a few hundred kilometers there. It’s not exactly the same thing as running on track, but you do shake out the gremlins. Followed by two filming days: one at Silverstone and one here [Bahrain] yesterday. The car ran flawlessly yesterday—it was brilliant.”

While Vowels wouldn’t be drawn on the exact weight of the car, understandably, he did not appear to think the team was any better or worse off than others. “I don’t think we’re on the weight limit right now as I talk to you. But there’s a plan in place both for Melbourne and then across the first three rounds or so just to make sure we’re jumping into that. Again, it goes back to: anyone that tells you exactly where they are is probably because they’re right on the weight limit or just below now. But there are sensor packs on the car that are worth around about 12 kilos here just to give you an idea, which is why until you shake that all off, no one knows exactly where [they are].”

Power Units

Mercedes AMG HPP

Facing the transformative changes coming for the F1 power unit

Honda

Interview: Shintaro Orihara

Red Bull Powertrains

Ford and Red Bull Racing accelerate 2026 F1 power unit development with advanced manufacturing and simulation

Ferrari

Audi

BP and Audi Revolut F1 Team join forces for sustainable racing

50% EV power

On paper, the changes to the energy recovery systems for 2026 simplify matters, moving from having two energy recovery sources (MGU-K and H) to a single MGU-K. However, the potency of the system more than doubles, from 120kW to 350kW. In theory, with both ICE and MGU on full song, the 2026 cars will be just as, if not more, powerful than the current machines. However, they will only be able to deploy this full power for a relatively small portion of a lap due to limitations imposed by the rules, energy recovery available under braking and harvesting via the ICE at part throttle.

On most tracks, the energy use limit will be set by regulation at 8.5MJ per lap (with the maximum SoC difference in the battery being 4MJ). However, at tracks where the FIA deems it harder to recover energy, the rules (currently) say that this allowance can be reduced all the way down to 5MJ, the intention being to mitigate any vast differences between teams who get a handle on energy deployment faster than the competition. At the time of writing, the rules surrounding where full power from the MGU-K can be deployed were still TBC, though it seems that maximum output will only be allowed as a push-to-pass function and during qualifying.

Furthermore, to prevent a ‘cliff-edge’ scenario of long straights, whereby battery energy is exhausted long before the braking point, available power from the battery will be tapered off at high speed, starting at 300km/h with 0kW available over 345km/h. Away from the energy management issues, which will no doubt consume gigaflops of teams’ computing power during simulation, the mechanical practicalities of the new systems are equally onerous.

As Aston Martin’s Andy Cowell notes, “350kW electric motors do exist in the world, it’s just whether you can get them down to a very lightweight, efficient 350kW. And the same with the battery: there are batteries that take 350kW but again, it’s the mass, it’s the volume and it’s the efficiency.” Starting with the mass of the MGU-K, this is set at 16-20kg, depending on whether the transmission delivering drive to the crank is incorporated within the ERS or the ICE. For reference, the current MGU-Ks have a minimum mass of 7kg. As Mercedes’ Hywel Thomas notes, “Of course, all of us will be aiming at the minimum mass. How close everyone gets, I think, will be an interesting topic.”

The regulations will also fix the location of the MGU-K, placing it at the front of the engine inside the safety cell (currently all teams mount theirs on the side of the engine). According to Thomas, the idea of fixing the location of the MGU-K was “to try to avoid one person coming up with an absolutely stunning idea of where to put it, which then everyone has to copy, and just spending their time copying it rather than actually developing good technology”.

Similarly, the control electronics will also be housed in the safety cell, meaning that there should be no high-voltage cable runs outside of the central chassis, thus improving crash safety. As with the current regulations, the efficiency of the electrical components of the power unit will be just as important as the ICE, the goal being to deploy as much of the permitted electrical power to the wheels as possible. Here the onus will be on the motor and power electronics engineers, and there will likely be some very useful (outside of racing) advances made in the field of high-power semiconductors and motor design, all while respecting the various competing demands of overall car performance, such as reducing cooling requirements to a minimum to keep the aerodynamicists happy

Ford to the Fore

The dawn of the 2026 F1 season will also see the advent of new manufacturer representation on the grid. Audi will arrive with an in-house-developed powertrain and chassis, having taken over Sauber; General Motors will become the 21 st team on the grid with its Cadillac brand; and Ford will come to the fore as the technical partner of Red Bull and Red Bull Powertrains. Although the first two have been keeping to tightly controlled schedules regarding the information they release to the media, Ford has been quite forthcoming about the nature of its involvement in the Red Bull project. Speaking to PMW at the Italian Grand Prix in August, Mark Rushbrook, global director at the newly minted Ford Racing (formerly known as Ford Performance), highlighted that the company’s activities had expanded beyond what it initially expected. “Back three years ago now, when we struck the initial deal, we had a short list of areas where we knew we could contribute and where we also wanted to learn. Initially that was focused more around the electrification, the battery itself: the cell chemistry, the battery pack, the motor and the software around it. That list has grown to much more involvement with the total powertrain and, more than I’d expected, the manufacturing of parts for it. “Where we didn’t expect so much [involvement] is on the ICE. We’re learning there more than we expected, to be honest. But then it’s the manufacturing of the parts. We have advanced manufacturing facilities, we’ve got clients that build hundreds of thousands of units a year, and we’ve got plants that do low volume with additive manufacturing, and that’s where we’re drilling from. Our facilities need to be able to support that, and the number of parts that we’re able to supply – making them in Dearborn and shipping them into Milton Keynes for assembly into the powertrains.” Ford was also able to provide vital capabilities to Red Bull Powertrains early in the development program, helping to reduce development timescales. For example, Red Bull didn’t have in-house rigs for turbocharger testing, which Ford Racing was able to access within the wider company.

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The post F1 2026 tech hub appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

Since its launch in Dubai in December 2024, Genesis Magma Racing has established a full team, recruiting staff and drivers from across motorsport. Over the past year, the team participated in the Trajectory Program with the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) while developing the GMR-001 Hypercar for next year’s FIA World Endurance Championship. Team principal Cyril Abiteboul reflects on the progress made in 2025 and the work ahead.

Can you sum up how 2025 has been for Genesis Magma Racing?

It’s been a positive, busy and constructive year, in which we have not only delivered a great looking sportscar but also built a racing team and established a team base that will be crucial in preparing ourselves over the winter. So, in all these areas, it’s been busy, it’s been productive, but also very rewarding to orchestrate so much change in just one year.

What has been the most difficult part about building a team from scratch?

Building up a group of people is tricky, especially as we were creating a brand-new team in a new location. We had to find the people we wanted to bring in, but most of them were busy doing something else, so we had to give them the prospect of not just what we are now, but what we can become together by explaining what the project is about and getting them to believe in the project.

The other big challenge was clearly on the powertrain side. We had very limited time to design the specific parts needed to adapt our WRC engine to the specific requirements of endurance racing to create the Genesis G8MR 3.2l Turbo V8. It was clearly a race against the clock. Everything happened very quickly, but we’ve been able to comply exactly with the schedule we set, from the very first crankshaft revolutions in the dyno in February, to the last weeks of the year, hitting the 8,000-kilometer target that we had set ourselves.

How essential do you think the Trajectory Program and partnership with IDEC Sport have been in preparing the Genesis Magma Racing team?

It was a good tool for us to get to know endurance racing and for endurance racing to get to know us. The ELMS season was also a great opportunity to assess drivers, and that certainly influenced our decisions about our line-up next year. It was also an opportunity for some team members to build a transition from rally into circuit racing.

On track, it was very positive. Usually, I’m a big fan of setting targets, but coming to ELMS we had few sporting targets. Then, when success started to come, it was a great feeling, and it began to draw more attention externally and internally, which was precisely the objective. I remember already after race one in Barcelona, when we had the first win, I received lots of messages, almost surprised at what we could already achieve. With IDEC Sport, we clearly did well with three wins out of six races, but you still always want a bit more, so we were all a little frustrated of the final championship outcome, but again, it was never the main target for this season.

Can you summarize the on-track development done with the car?

From shakedown onward, testing followed clear plans with defined targets and action steps between sessions. Our approach was both ambitious and pragmatic, focused on solving problems. Many aspects, especially the chassis, performed well straight away, and the car responded positively to setup changes. Oreca provided a solid platform for reliability and performance. Cooperation between our team and Oreca was strong, with responsibility transferred smoothly as our team grew – a testament to the excellent planning and execution by management, particularly chief engineer Justin Taylor and team manager Anouck Abadie.

Was there a high point of the year, or a crucial point in the development of the car?

There were a few points, I think. First, in the test at Circuit Paul Ricard in summer, when the first feedback from André and Pipo about the general behavior of the car was positive. That was certainly good – there is nothing worse than having to fight for the balance of the car, but the development is far from being linear. We’ve been making some steps forward, but it’s a very, very long process and we know that we are still very far from being able to extract all the lap time that is possible from the package.

How important of a milestone is the engine passing 8,000 kilometers during the Barcelona test?

It’s a big milestone because it shows that it’s possible, that there is nothing fundamentally wrong in the engine and in our development decisions. It’s a clear demonstration of the capacity of our powertrain group to deal with very short timelines, but also some challenging early days and issues for which measures were developed successfully, and in time.

It’s obviously a motivation, because we know we have a product that has the capacity to reach the level we need. Quality control will be essential to make sure that it’s not just a one off, but something that we can fully reproduce, and that powertrain technology becomes one of the recognized strengths of Genesis Magma Racing.

How does what the team has achieved compare to the goals that were set at the start of the year?

If I look at what we had to deliver, I think we delivered extremely well, but it will always be relative to where the bar is placed by our competitors, and we will only be able to find that out next year. In the GMR-001 Hypercar we have a car that has clearly strong potential. The team is new but filled with individuals with huge amounts of experience in various categories. And finally, our line-up of drivers is a very strong balance of three champions – André Lotterer, Pipo Derani and Mathieu Jaminet, an exciting rising star in Mathys [Jaubert], and very established professional drivers with Paul-Loup [Chatain] and Dani [Juncadella]. We have exactly what we need – now it’s up to us to make the best out of it.

What are the next steps for the team and the car development in the first part of 2026?

There will be more test days before the first race. It’s about trying to do as much as we can before the car goes through homologation, because then any changes will be more limited. That’s why the start of the year will be extra busy. We need to have many more iterations on the software side, so that will be very much the focus, as well as working on all the procedures that will be critical when the season starts.

Our target for the start of the year is for us to have both a car and team – including the drivers – that are reliable, making no mistake, focus on completing the race. If we can do that, then it will be about building competitiveness. Once again, it is all about planning for building the very solid foundations we will need in the years to come.

This is an edited version of an article that first appeared on Genesis’ newsroom on December 19, 2025.

Explore: Tire intelligence reimagined: Sensing Core hits the track

The post Q&A: Cyril Abiteboul, Genesis Magma Racing team principal and Hyundai Motorsport president appeared first on Professional Motorsport World.

In motorsport and automotive engineering, the pursuit of uplifts and efficiencies is relentless. Every element is scrutinized for its potential to deliver an edge. Tire intelligence, once limited simply to pressure and temperature analysis, has become central to this quest, evolving rapidly as new technologies emerge and old assumptions are challenged. Among these innovations, Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI) has developed Sensing Core, a non-invasive, intelligent approach to monitoring tire parameters. Its journey from passenger vehicles to the harsh environment of endurance racing offers a glimpse into how simple but effective innovations can deliver significant opportunities for manufacturers and race teams alike

Sensing Core’s unique advantage comes in the form of its multi-faceted measurement approach. It measures vibrations, changes in the dynamic radius, and other signals, such as yaw rate and engine and brake information, without requiring additional hardware. Based on this, Sensing Core intelligently interprets pressure, grip and wear. What sets Sensing Core apart is its simple logic. Traditional tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) monitor each wheel in isolation, triggering alerts only when a predefined threshold is crossed. Sensing Core, by contrast, analyses trends across all four wheels, detecting anomalies that would otherwise go unnoticed. A conventional system sees wheels as individuals, leaving the driver or team to interpret. Sensing Core’s algorithms, however, recognize outliers and anomalies across the set and can alert the team independently before a problem escalates.

The system’s algorithms, rooted in the interpretation of physics-based data taken from the vehicle, run on embedded hardware supplied to car and brake manufacturers. This approach opens up advanced tire intelligence to millions of vehicles worldwide. Over 56 million cars have already been equipped with Sensing Core’s indirect tire pressure monitoring system, and new features like tire wear, grip, load and loose wheel detection are being rolled out.

While Sensing Core has been well proven on the road, 2025 saw the technology’s on-track debut and, with it, a brand-new set of challenges. On the racetrack, tires are exposed to many temperature and pressure changes due to curbs and high speeds. At the Nürburgring, these conditions may change dramatically as code 60 phases (a localized slow zone used on the Nürburgring) come into effect. These circumstances, where extreme variability can easily catch traditional TPMS sensors off guard, are where the multiphase approach of Sensing Core comes into its own. Traditional sensors require the input of a warning threshold, and if the threshold is ever understepped in terms of pressure, the system triggers an alert. Sensing Core’s ability to compare all four tires simultaneously enables the software to intelligently distinguish between a single blowout and a non-hazardous circumstance that affects all tires simultaneously.

Sensing Core’s racing debut took place during the 2025 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS), on board both of Falken Motorsports‘ Porsche 911 GT3 Rs. Contributing to Falken’s most successful season at the circuit yet, the Falken Porsches ran an early version of the software in the opening rounds, before the full version was rolled out in time for the jewel in the NLS crown, the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Sensing Core was a factor in Falken’s five wins and four 1-2 finishes, and in some cases it detected tire conditions faster than members of Falken’s experienced driver roster.

During the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Falken Motorsports detected a puncture on its #44 Porsche. Sensing Core informed the crew, who relayed the information to the driver, but he disagreed. When he pitted, the team discovered the tire did indeed have a slow puncture. It’s this type of unprecedented early warning that could preserve race pace and avoid damage or lost time. From this point onward, the team’s faith in the technology was cemented.

Beyond the extreme surface conditions present at the Nürburgring, the 20.5km Nordschleife section tests Sensing Core’s connectivity and adaptability. Even in the remote sections of the northern loop, Sensing Core connects to the cloud and delivers data and insights in near real time.

One of the most striking aspects of Sensing Core is its deliberate avoidance of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). While many automotive technologies chase the promise of AI, Sensing Core relies on traditional computational logic. This is not a technical limitation but a conscious design choice. Passenger vehicles often lack the computing power to harness complex AI models, and in high-stakes environments such as motorsport, reliability and transparency are paramount, beyond the latency and occasional inaccuracy of a large-language model. The algorithms have been refined over years in road applications, and their performance in racing has validated this approach. In passenger vehicles, all computation is in the car, using embedded software. In racing, the data is processed externally, but the underlying principles remain the same. This continuity allows for rapid iteration and improvement; during the 2025 season, the system was updated race by race, with feedback from engineers delivering incremental enhancements.

Despite its technical sophistication, Sensing Core does not yet provide direct recommendations for car setup or tire development. The potential is there, but the system’s designers are cautious. Tire development is a complicated process, and not all data is equally useful. For instance, a puncture caused by debris offers little insight for improving tire design. However, if repeated issues arise in the same corner or under similar conditions, patterns may emerge. As more data is gathered, Sensing Core could become a valuable tool for identifying such trends, but for now, its primary role is in delivering timely, actionable intelligence.

The system’s independence from tire brand is another notable feature. Although developed by SRI, the owner of Dunlop and Falken, Sensing Core is agnostic and could be used by other tire OEMs, offering teams flexibility on tire brand preference.

Sensing Core’s evolution will likely be shaped by the increasing availability of data and the growing demands of road and race applications. As more vehicles are equipped with advanced telemetry, the system’s algorithms will have richer data sets to analyze, potentially unlocking new capabilities. The prospect of integrating Sensing Core insights into tire development and car setup remains on the horizon, but the foundation has been laid.

In related news, Pirelli finalizes 2026 Formula 1 tire compounds

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Motorsport pushes every element of a vehicle beyond conventional limits. The heat radiating from compact engines, the unrelenting vibration across a chassis at speed, and the electromagnetic interference generated by increasingly complex electronics create an environment that can expose any weakness in an electrical system. Even the smallest failure in a wiring harness can undermine performance and leave teams facing setbacks measured in seconds yet costly in outcome. Glenn Piper, director of global product management at WireMasters, explores how aerospace-grade cabling technology helps motorsport engineers maintain performance and reliability

Race engineers operate in conditions that test cables far beyond ordinary parameters. Harnesses must maintain integrity against abrasion from debris, maintain conductivity under extremes of temperature and carry signals reliably during continuous vibration.

When a data line drops during a race, the loss of telemetry deprives teams of real-time insights that guide strategy and safety. When power distribution falters, the result can be immediate and visible on track. The challenge is not only to design wiring systems that resist these conditions but to do so while minimizing weight and preserving flexibility for intricate routing through tightly constrained assemblies.

Lessons from aerospace and defense

Many of the solutions now gaining traction in motorsport originated in aerospace programs, where reliability is crucial.

Conductors engineered with lighter alloys reduce weight without compromising electrical performance. High-temperature insulators such as fluoropolymers maintain stability even when exposed to sustained thermal loads. Shielding architectures designed to suppress electromagnetic interference protect signal integrity when multiple high-frequency systems operate in close proximity.

Specialist designs from manufacturers such as Gigaflight, including ethernet quad cables, are now approved and used for data transfer in Formula 1, where speed and reliability are decisive. These designs demonstrate how lessons learned in aviation and defense translate effectively to the track.

Data at speed

Modern racing vehicles depend on high-volume data flows that connect sensors, control systems and communications platforms. Telemetry provides teams with continuous insight into performance and wear, while video and voice systems support coordination across the pit wall.

The integrity of these channels rests on cable design that supports high-speed ethernet cabling while remaining resistant to vibration and interference. Specialist shielded twisted-pair data bus cables achieve the necessary transfer speeds while maintaining durability under stress. Coaxial designs deliver the signal stability required for video feeds that are scrutinized frame by frame.

From design to trackside

The effectiveness of advanced cabling relies not only on the technology itself but also on the ability to specify, source and integrate it when required. Motorsport engineers need assurance that materials tested to aerospace standards can be obtained with full traceability and incorporated into harnesses at the pace of development cycles measured in weeks rather than months. Through its partnership with Gigaflight, WireMasters provides motorsport engineers with ready access to approved aerospace-grade cabling when required.

Motorsport success depends on the flawless performance of systems in some of the harshest conditions electrical components will ever face. Aerospace-grade cabling, adapted for the track, offers the resilience and reliability that engineers demand. By applying these technologies and ensuring their availability, the industry continues to strengthen the unseen yet vital networks that keep vehicles competitive across every lap.

Explore: From invisible to accountable: measuring global road safety performance

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The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has highlighted the need for greater accountability and standardized measurement in global road safety. The organization calls on countries to adopt transparent data collection practices and share information to better track and reduce road safety accidents worldwide. Willem Groenewald, FIA secretary general for automotive mobility and sustainability, explains more

Every day, more than 3,000 people lose their lives in road crashes, and millions more sustain serious injuries. These figures represent a significant public health challenge, yet road safety often remains overlooked in global discussions. Why? Because what isn’t measured is rarely managed.

Companies, governments and organizations around the world track emissions, energy use and even wellness indicators, but road safety performance has largely fallen outside the frame. This gap has left us without a common language to hold ourselves accountable – until now.

The FIA may be known as the governing body for world motorsport, including F1, but we’re making mobility safer, more affordable and sustainable for everyone. On behalf of road users across 149 countries, we champion consumer rights, changing driving behavior at scale and bringing life-saving motorsport safety innovations to the road.

The FIA Road Safety Index was created in 2022 with the support of the FIA Foundation to fill this void as a direct response to the Stockholm Declaration of 2020. It provides a clear, systematic way for organizations to measure their safety footprint: the real-world impact their activities and value chains have on road safety. By identifying where risks exist, the Index helps organizations set concrete targets, take meaningful action and monitor results over time.

We know road deaths and injuries are preventable. The science, technology and strategies already exist. What has been missing is accountability – a way to measure and compare progress consistently across organizations and countries. The FIA Road Safety Index provides that mechanism.

The methodology is straightforward but comprehensive. It asks organizations to make clear commitments, collect and report safety data, and examine their sphere of influence across supply chains and operations. Whether you are a logistics company managing a fleet of trucks, a retailer sourcing products through transportation networks, or a service provider with employees on the road, the Index helps you understand and reduce the risks linked to your operations.

Road safety cannot be left to governments alone. Employers, manufacturers, service providers and investors all play a role. By applying the FIA Road Safety Index, organizations can ensure that the people who move for them – their employees, contractors, customers and communities – do so safely.

The Index is designed for the global market because road safety is a global problem. Worldwide, the principles are the same: safer roads, safer vehicles and safer behavior save lives. It is a universal tool for continuous improvement and benchmarking, ensuring that safety standards rise everywhere, not just in isolated pockets.

For businesses, adopting the Index is not just about compliance or reporting. It is about leadership. It is about showing that you value the lives of your employees and customers.

With multiple organizations currently engaged with the Index, including, Amazon, Uber, Ikea, Waymo, Shell and the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), the FIA continues to evolve and will expand from a 3- to a 5-star rating in 2026, with the assessments covering five areas: commitment, footprint, planning, monitoring of safety performance, and safety culture management and supply chain coverage.

The question is no longer whether road safety should be measured, but how quickly organizations will make it a priority.

The FIA has also been working on the development of a steering damper to prevent hand injuries in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship

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The FIA has been working on the development of a steering damper to prevent hand injuries in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Accidents, such as those sustained by Envision Racing‘s Robin Frijns and NEOM McLaren‘s Sam Bird, triggered the FIA to investigate what was to blame.

The process of engineering a solution involved a painstaking procedure from testing and simulation to final validation. The investigation found that the front-end shunts caused the steering wheel to rotate up to 10 times faster than usual. This discovery prompted a suite of solutions, from modifying the steering wheel’s shape to adding foam inside the cockpit and redesigning the front wing to better protect the car’s front wheels.

The most significant adaptation, however, was a new steering damper. The damper absorbs the energy of the impact and reduces the peak rotational speed in such situations by as much as 40%. There have been no repeat injuries since its introduction.

FIA safety director Nuno Costa, FIA chief technical and safety officer Xavier Mestelan Pinon and ABB FIA Formula E World Championship medical delegate Bruno Franceschini played key roles in the development

“Basically, I broke my hand inside the cockpit because I wasn’t expecting the steering wheel to suddenly come out of my hands,” said Frijns. “Unfortunately, I had quite some damage because I broke the bone in three places.

“My injury was quite bad, but the FIA is pushing hard to make it safer for us and they’ve made big steps from that moment onward. I think the steering damper is a very good tool. If you have a crash, the damper takes all the force away from the wheel so it doesn’t really move out of your hands anymore.”

In related news, Formula E and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile have announced a 10-year extension for the continued promotion of the FIA Formula E World Championship within the all-electric single-seater category. Read the full story here

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Sweeping regulation changes are looming large in F1 and 2026 will usher in all new power unit and chassis rules. With teams only getting a green light to start development at the start of 2025 – not to mention that some areas of the final technical regs are still fluid – coupled with budget cap constraints and a need to still dedicate some resources to improving the 2025 car, the pressure is on.

PMW caught up with Ayao Komatsu, team principal of MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, at the British Grand Prix to gauge both the current state of development for 2026 and what the main performance differentiators will be.

Power units in F1 2026

There has been much discussion and comment from teams and drivers who have tested virtual 2026 cars about the characteristics of the new power units. To briefly recap, the basics of a turbocharged, 1,600cc V6 will remain, coupled with a hybrid system, though the current MGU-H will be ditched and purely kinetic energy recovery relied upon. The power output of the MGU-K will be upped to 350kW from the current 120kW, with the ICE output cut, meaning an approximate 50:50 power split between electric and ICE.

Early in the development of the rules it became clear that at many tracks full power deployment (the rules set a 9MJ recovery limit per lap) would not be sustainable for the entirety of a lap. This ultimately led to the introduction of both rear and front movable aerodynamic devices, permitting a high and low drag mode while (hopefully) maintaining aerodynamic balance, to try and address the power deficit on the straights compared to current F1 machinery.

Does this mean that 2026, like 2014-2020, will be a powertrain-dominated formula? Komatsu is hopeful that this won’t be the case with scope for teams to gain in other areas even if their power unit (PU) is not as competitive:  “Obviously it’s not good to have one parameter that is really dominating as a performance differentiator. It’s always good to have several factors. Ideally, if you had four factors, each of them is contributing a quarter to form a performance differentiation, that’s the ideal situation, but it’s never going to be the case. The PU side, it’s going to be big, but it depends how competitive the manufacturers are, right?

“I cannot sit here and say that [PUs] are going to dominate. The aerodynamic regulations are totally new as well. So that that will be big, and the fuel war is also quite fierce. So that could be a big performance differentiator. Then the minimum weight is very aggressive, weight will be a performance differentiator, [and the knock-on effect that has had on] strategy choices that PU manufacturers had to take a long, long time ago because of that weight limitation.”

Komatsu highlights the battery as one element of this strategy choice. These will be considerably larger and heavier than the current units, with the question being, is it worth taking a weight hit for greater performance? “[Things like that are] big factors, I don’t expect all the PU manufacturers or even the teams on the chassis side have the same strategy. So it will be very interesting at the start of next year [to see] which strategies actually worked.”

He also notes that though all-new tires will arrive for 2026 he does not expect these to be a huge issue, despite the fact that the duty cycle of the tires – due to the different PU power delivery characteristics – will be very different. “I might be wrong, the tires may not be straightforward, but I think PU and the aerodynamic side will be the dominant factor,” he says.

Will the 2026 F1 cars look alike?

The 2026 aerodynamic regulations are a departure from the current rule set, but also very different to those run until 2022. They move away from a reliance on full underfloor tunnels and ground effect, with a switch back to a more traditional flat floor and diffuser section in an effort to dissuade teams from running very low and temperamental setups.

However, many of the details, particularly around the front wings and bargeboard area, are far more tightly controlled than they were prior to 2022, to try to prevent out-washing of the front wheel wakes and the detrimental effect this has on the following car’s aero performance.

With the new and arguably tighter constraints on bodywork, this raises the question – will one optimal approach be apparent to all teams from the start? Hopefully not, says Komatsu: “I think to start off with there is enough scope to be different. But in Formula 1 world, everybody learns from each other so quickly, so it may converge pretty quickly as well.”

It is also the case that teams’ overall philosophies will be more visible. “With these [current] regulations, a ground effect car, so much performance comes from the bits you cannot see, whereas [with] next year’s aerodynamic regulations, most of the performance, aerodynamically at least, comes from the things you can actually see,” he says.

“If somebody is miles ahead, and it’s not due to the PU, it will probably easier for everybody else to copy. Whereas with these ground effect cars, if you just copy what’s visible, you don’t achieve anything.”

With Silverstone marking the mid-point of the season, most teams now have their development sights firmly on 2026. Though many will still introduce small updates for the remainder of the season, 2026 is now the focus. “I’d expect most of the teams [are now]  focused on next year,” says Komatsu. “It is too big a change not to do that. Some people I’d expect to be already 100% focused on that, and I don’t think, at this stage in July, anyone is still at 50:50.”

It is also important to remember that it is not just the physical cars that need to be developed from scratch, they will require an entirely different approach to energy use and consequently race strategy and setup. When asked whether Haas’s existing tools can be re-tuned to match this new challenge, Komatsu was emphatic, stating that it is not so much tuning that is needed, rather development of an all-new toolset: “We have got to think of other dimensions that we didn’t have to consider before. It’s going to be very interesting; it’s going to be a huge challenge.”

Further reading: Technical gallery from the 2025 British Grand Prix

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Bugatti demands nothing less than perfection from each example of its Bugatti W16 Mistral, which undergoes an exhaustive and uncompromising quality assessment process before it is delivered to its owner. At the heart of the testing exercise lies a protocol that subjects each vehicle to a minimum of 400km of evaluation across the diverse landscapes of Alsace, ensuring that every example meets the high standards of the marque.

A 350km test route through the picturesque Alsatian countryside serves as an amphitheater for evaluating the W16 Mistral’s capabilities. On the carefully curated route, every component undergoes individual testing, taking the fit, feel and functionality of features within the cockpit, as well as the precision of the steering system’s response and return characteristics, into consideration.

A route designed to challenge: open road testing

The route includes traditional Alsatian villages, winding country roads that test the W16 Mistral’s agility, long highway stretches intended to evaluate stability and comfort during sustained cruising, and mountain passes that challenge the powertrain under a range of elevation and atmospheric conditions.

Bugatti has carefully selected the route to reflect the full spectrum of real-world scenarios a customer may encounter to test the driving experience. This includes the technical challenge of cobblestone surfaces that can reveal the slightest chassis irregularity, to open stretches where the W16 engine can reach its crescendo in the open-air cockpit.

Testing beyond functionality

The validation process extends beyond mechanical systems and encompasses the complete sensory experience. Noise testing occurs across multiple scenarios including evaluation with and without the soft-top roof, analysis of wind and road noise characteristics, assessment of the exhaust system’s acoustic signature and verification of chassis and tire rolling dynamics.

Transmission behavior also receives dedicated attention, with technicians analyzing gear changes during acceleration, deceleration and varying load conditions. Every part of the surrounding environment is used in the pursuit of perfection, including the narrow streets lined with ancient stone buildings, which create natural acoustic chambers for Bugatti’s test drivers, using the echo against walls to analyze every nuance of the vehicle’s sound profile.

Three qualified specialists

Only a select few specialists take on the mantle of such a rigorous assessment journey. Currently, only three experts possess the full qualification and dedication required to conduct W16 Mistral quality appraisal. These evaluators together represent decades of accumulated knowledge, with each new test driver undergoing an intensive training regime, including several supervised test drives alongside senior experts and fully autonomous assessments encompassing comprehensive sensory analysis.

This human-centric approach reflects Bugatti’s fundamental methodology: 90% of quality validation is derived from the driver’s personal analysis and sensory interpretation through sight, sound and touch. The three automotive specialists possess the ability to detect the slightest irregular sound, identifying unknown vibrations often imperceptible to untrained senses. These are sounds that could indicate developing issues. Their mechanical understanding enables accurate detection and diagnosis of an anomaly early on.

Each observation is meticulously recorded via a dictaphone during the drive for a follow up in-depth analysis, and when necessary, followed by partial or complete vehicle disassembly. The remaining 10% of the evaluation uses electronic diagnostics – a combination of Bugatti’s internal telemetry systems and data loggers are used to continuously monitor and record all performance metrics throughout the test drive.

The circuit arena: closed-road testing

Moving from the open road to a closed-circuit arena, the testing program culminates with high-speed track sessions at the Colmar airfield, where Bugatti maintains an exclusive 1,600m partnership facility. At this site, emergency braking systems, electronic stability program (ESP) and anti-lock braking system (ABS) undergo evaluation at speeds reaching 300km/h.

For this, the Mistral’s removable roof mechanism demands additional layers of testing. Every aspect of the roof’s fit, removal process and high-speed resistance undergoes scrutiny. Only with the roof removed can the roadster achieve its top speed, enabling the quad-turbocharged W16’s 1,600ps to express itself without constraint.

The iterative nature of Bugatti’s assessment method is designed to ensure absolute perfection. Following the identification and resolution of any irregularities, regardless of how minor, a secondary verification test of typically 50km or more is conducted to confirm whether the corrections made have been effective. This process repeats as many times as necessary until the vehicle demonstrates what Bugatti deems a flawless performance, under every conceivable condition.

This article was first published on Bugatti.com

In related news, Ian Haigh, Ian Haigh, solutions group manager at Ansible Motion, discusses the critical role of DIL simulation in F1

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