Formula 1 will race with less power than Formula 2 at Spa

The drivers as well are braced for a weekend of extreme power management around a classic Formula 1 track that requires high power levels.

Over the years, it has been a joy watching the Formula 1 cars climb uphill from La Source towards Eau Rouge and Raidillon, then build up speed along the Kemmel straight.

But that will probably not be the case this year, and it is anyone's guess how the Formula 1 engineers will program their power units to deliver power in the way they deem as best.

Spa was already a talking point in Silverstone, where the 2026 Formula 1 cars were left wanting, with drivers having to lift at iconic corners like Copse and the Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel sequence.

Speaking last time out in Silverstone, Fernando Alonso, a vocal critic of the 2026 power units, said: “Silverstone and Spa, they are very thirsty on energy.

“You cannot deploy in all the straights. Next week, it is going to be the same thing. If you deploy in Spa from Turn 1 [La Source] to 5 [Les Combes], it is finito for the rest of the lap.

“So, you need to save a little bit there to have deployment from Turn 14 [Stavelot] to the Bus Stop [chicane, Turns 18 and 19]. But if you deploy in those two straights, which is the optimal deployment, then there is one minute, sector two, with no deployment at all.

“And with no deployment at all, we cannot forget that this year we have significantly less power than last year and less power than F2.

"That is the case when you cut the deployment. So, yes, it is a challenge," the double Formula 1 Champion maintained.

Haas driver Oliver Bearman joked, adding: “Let's not speak too soon because we have Spa next week… maybe Silverstone will feel mega compared to that.

As for the ever-frustrated Max Verstappen, he lamented: “I love Spa, but Spa is going to be another painful one, just because of the energy, like here [Silverstone]."

Formula 1 cars generate around 1000 bhp with full deployment, 540 bhp of those coming from the Internal Combustion Engines. Formula 2 cars' Mecachrome engines deliver 610bhp. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)