Carlos Sainz: PU manufacturers 'pulling strings' behind F1 rules delay

Carlos Sainz, Williams driver and GPDA director, has accused F1's power unit manufacturers of "pulling strings everywhere" to stall regulatory changes that could erode their advantages. His comments come after intense talks during the April break led to minor fixes for Miami—raising super-clipping to 350kW and cutting energy deployment from 8MJ to 7MJ—but left deeper reforms for 2027 unresolved.

Why it matters:

The standoff threatens F1's ability to deliver a balanced engine formula. With the 2027 target of a 50-50 power output split already on the table, manufacturers are blocking progress to preserve their hard-won performance leads—creating a political gridlock that could delay meaningful competition improvements for years.

The details:

• April break fixes: The FIA, F1, teams, and PUMs agreed to two 2026 changes but deferred the tougher 50-50 split debate to 2027.
• Voting bottleneck: Changing the 2027 rules requires a supermajority—four of five PUMs (Mercedes HPP, Ferrari, Honda, Audi, Red Bull Powertrains) plus the FIA and F1. Any single dissenter can block progress.
• Stella's push: McLaren boss Andrea Stella has called for delaying major changes to 2028, arguing F1 needs more time to solve fundamental issues.
• Sainz's view: "Clearly, there is a lot of political interest. People have done better homework than others, and they don't want to lose their performance advantage because of rule changes. So you give the teams too much power, and in the end, especially the PU manufacturers are going to fight like hell for their own interests."
  • He added that if the FIA simply dictated rules, most teams could adapt, but "there are strings attached and they're pulling strings everywhere."
  • As a GPDA director, Sainz is pushing for changes as early as 2027, even though his current Mercedes power unit could benefit from the status quo.

What's next:

The grid remains split. While Sainz and the GPDA call for swift reform to level the playing field, manufacturers are expected to dig in. The next milestone is the 2027 rule vote, which needs supermajority support—and that remains far from certain. If no consensus emerges, F1 risks a prolonged period of power unit domination, undermining the spectacle and competitive balance.