Andrea Kimi Antonelli stands on the eve of his second Formula 1 season. The new year brings significant change for the young Italian, with entirely new regulations coming into force for both chassis and power unit. Antonelli nevertheless knows where the biggest challenge will lie: the deployment of increasing electrical power. “It’s almost a kind of chess at high speed,” the Mercedes driver explains.
In 2026 a completely new engine formula takes effect in Formula 1. Teams will, for the first time, contend with a power unit whose power split is half combustion engine and half electric hybrid system. That makes battery management a decisive factor during races. According to Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, this is the biggest challenge for the drivers.
‘A kind of chess’
“I think the most important element sits on the power unit side, and of course on the battery side,” he said during the season launch of the Silver Arrows. The young Italian believes drivers’ creativity will become even more crucial. “Because you can play a lot with the electric power, especially when you’re fighting other drivers. It’s like chess, but a kind of chess at high speed.”
It will, however, not only matter what a driver does behind the wheel, but also how the deployment of electric power is mapped out with the team ahead of a race weekend or even a single session. “Especially with HPP (Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains) it will be very important to optimise the software and the deployment for each circuit, because that can really make the difference,” Antonelli adds. “When I talk about deployment I mean both the race and qualifying. It’s about having the right and consistent deployment every lap and every run. That can really make the difference, because with these new regulations it’s a massive change, even on the software side. It’s going to be a very different story.”
