Coulthard: The nature of the battle on the track will change dramatically.

      David Coulthard, a former Formula 1 driver with 246 Grands Prix to his name, having raced for teams such as Williams, McLaren and Red Bull Racing, and now an expert for the Viaplay channel, believes that the nature of on-track competition in the championship next year will change noticeably.

      David Coulthard: “Formula 1 teams are entering a new era in which the internal combustion engine provides only 50% of the energy, and the other 50% is electrical energy. I think the very fact that all the teams took part in discussions about the new technical regulations for power units shows that they had certain doubts.

      All of this will lead to the nature of on-track competition changing a lot. Usually you exit a corner and gradually accelerate, reach the maximum possible speed, and then brake again before the next corner.

      With next-generation power units it will probably be like this: you accelerate, pick up speed, and then your battery charge runs out, and the power of just the engine may prove insufficient compared to aerodynamic drag.

      In general, the behavior of the cars will be roughly like that, but since everyone will be on an equal footing, the races will still be races. You know, I remember my sailing experience, and someone might think, can such races even be interesting if a yacht’s speed is only 10 knots?

      But when another yacht is doing nine and a half knots or ten and a half knots, that’s when the race begins, and it becomes interesting!

      However, there is a risk that when Formula 1 switches to the new technical regulations, one power unit manufacturer could gain a clear advantage, as happened with Mercedes at the start of the hybrid era. Their engines then outperformed others in terms of power to such an extent that the team did not even need the best car to win races.”