F1's new hybrid cars struggle at Spa; AI energy systems blamed for performance gaps

The Belgium Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps took place this weekend at one of Formula 1's most historically significant venues. The circuit, which predates the modern F1 world championship by more than 25 years, was first raced in 1922 as a 9-mile loop of public roads connecting the towns of Malmedy and Stavelot. The modern Spa configuration was established in 1979, reducing the layout to 4.3 miles (6.9 km), and it remains the longest track on the F1 calendar. The circuit is famous for corners including Eau Rouge and Raidillon—a quick left-right combination climbing 77 feet (24 m) of steep hill—and other demanding sections like Pouhon that test driver skill in the high-downforce era.

However, the current generation of F1 cars are fundamentally poorly suited to Spa's character. The 2026 power units combine a V6 engine with a hybrid system, but the battery holds only 4 MJ of electrical energy and can power the electric motor for just a few seconds per lap. For the rest of the lap, drivers operate with severely reduced power—in some sectors, Max Verstappen estimated he had only 450–500 bhp, roughly equivalent to a Formula 3 car despite carrying F1 downforce. To preserve what little energy exists, drivers must coast into corners that historically required maximum commitment, fundamentally changing how the track is raced. Verstappen said after qualifying: "For most of sector two, you run just on the engine. So what is that? 450 bhp, 500 bhp? Something like that, which is, I guess, more or less what a Formula 3 car has but with F1 downforce. So you can imagine, of course, that that is not very exciting to drive."

The qualifying session highlighted a deeper problem: self-learning AI systems that manage energy deployment across the lap have introduced performance mysteries that even the teams cannot solve. Mercedes' George Russell, the championship favorite heading into the season, trailed teammate Kimi Antonelli by three tenths of a second on the grid. More troubling, Russell's car was visibly slower on straight-line sections than Antonelli's sister car. After qualifying, Russell told the media: "My whole focus for the last 36 hours has been on straight-line speed. It hasn't been focused on the set-up, tires, or anything, because we're all trying to solve what is going on." He added: "Even my last lap, for some reason, I lost another tenth and a half to myself, just on the straight. And you're watching on your steering wheel, [you're] losing speed when you're full gas on the straight. You feel powerless. We don't know what's going on."

During the race, Russell's problems persisted. As drivers lifted and coasted into what was previously a heavy braking zone before Les Combes, Russell regenerated enough energy to attempt an overtake on Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari. Hamilton had nowhere to go, and Russell clipped him, spinning into the gravel and recording a DNF (did not finish). Despite the incident being a racing accident, the stewards penalized Hamilton with 5 seconds rather than Russell. Antonelli, meanwhile, won the race for his sixth victory of the season, briefly passed by Verstappen at the start but regaining and holding the lead by Les Combes through the finish. The 2026 race lacked drama compared to Spa's storied history—a symptom of the new ruleset's fundamental incompatibility with the sport's most popular and challenging circuits.

The current F1 technical regulations have created a fundamental mismatch between the cars' capabilities and the sport's most demanding venues. Spa-Francorchamps, which features in the sport's history since 1950 and is widely regarded as one of the world's greatest racetracks, has always tested drivers through high-speed corners demanding commitment and bravery—qualities that defined the track's mystique. The new hybrid power units, however, have inverted that dynamic: with only 4 MJ of battery capacity and minimal hybrid output, drivers are forced to adopt a defensive energy-conservation strategy rather than an aggressive one. Verstappen's comparison—describing his power output in certain sectors as equivalent to a Formula 3 car despite F1 downforce—illustrates the severity of the power deficit.

The George Russell incident reveals a second, perhaps more troubling layer: the introduction of self-learning AI systems to manage energy deployment has introduced opacity that even the teams and drivers cannot fully diagnose. Russell reported losing a tenth and a half on a single lap despite being at full throttle, a performance mystery his own team could not solve despite 36 hours of focused effort on straight-line speed. Because these AI systems operate as black boxes that adapt and learn across multiple variables, drivers have lost the direct causal feedback they need to understand why their car behaves the way it does. The result is a sport where driver skill, at least in traditional terms, matters less than whether the AI-managed energy system is working correctly on a given day.