The agreement, announced earlier this week, will shift the balance back towards the internal combustion engine and reduce the reliance on electrical power under the 2026 rules.
Under the planned changes, internal combustion engine output will rise from 400kW to 420kW in 2027, moving the power split to 58/42 in favour of the combustion engine, before a further increase to 450kW in 2028 delivers the targeted 60/40 balance.
The package is aimed at reducing the need for drivers to compromise corner speed in order to save energy for the straights.
Speaking ahead of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri said the revisions were a positive move after drivers’ concerns were taken into account.
“I think they’re a step in the right direction. Obviously the further step in 2028 is even more of a step in the right direction,” Piastri said.
“Our feedback as drivers has been taken on board, which has been good. And obviously for all the manufacturers it’s a lot of time and money spent in making engines for this year.
“So I get that it’s a complicated process.”
Max Verstappen, who has been one of the strongest critics of the current engine rules, also welcomed the change, despite admitting he would have preferred the full 2028 adjustment to arrive next season.
“I do think that it was nice to see that changes are being made, of course, already this year, but then also for next year,” Verstappen said.
“Of course, I would have hoped that next year would have been already, let’s say, what we get in 2028.
“But I also understand that there is sometimes politics involved for that.
“But at least the changes that they are making are heading in the right direction.
“So I guess that’s it. Yeah, that’s a good thing.”
Fernando Alonso, however, was more critical, arguing the need to alter the rules so soon after their introduction showed the concept had been wrong from the beginning.
“I think we need to give time and hopefully things get better and the fans enjoy it a bit more, and drivers, we are a little bit happier with the car,” Alonso said.
“But at the end of the day, these power units, they have this DNA and it will be difficult to change.
“You can make a small tweak on the rules, but it will always reward to go slower in the corners to have more energy on the straights, and that’s, as I said, the DNA of the rules.
“And by race seven of this year or whatever, that we need to change the rules for next year and potentially for 2028, it tells you that it was something wrong from the beginning.”
Oliver Bearman said the changes should allow drivers to rely more on instinct rather than constantly adjusting their driving to protect energy deployment.
“It’s moving more towards consistency and being able to drive how we’ve all grown up driving, which is driving on instinct and not thinking really about the knock-on effect of, if you drive this corner differently to the way you did the lap before, is it going to have a positive effect or a negative effect?” Bearman said.
“I think already giving a bit more work to the ICE and a bit less to the ERS is a step in the right direction.”
Liam Lawson agreed, saying drivers wanted cars they could push harder without constantly managing the power unit.
“I think we just want to drive cars that we can drive flat out and not have to think about anything else, and I think that’s a step in the right direction to that,” Lawson said.
“But I think, as Fernando said, the baseline is always going to be there a little bit, and I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to fully avoid that with these power units.”
Honda, meanwhile, became the first power unit manufacturer to publicly respond to the changes, with trackside general manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara describing the move as a “reasonable step.”
“I would say that our target is to get more engine power, but I would say that [the rule changes announced by the FIA] is a reasonable step for the power unit side,” Orihara said.
The planned changes still require formal approval from the FIA World Motor Sport Council, which is due to meet on June 23.
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