F1 power units: ICE and ERS explained
A clear guide to F1 power units: the hybrid components, what the ICE does, how ERS recovers energy, and why the rules changed for 2026.
Formula 1 power units are hybrid systems, not just engines. They combine an internal combustion engine with electrical hardware that recovers, stores and redeploys energy, and the regulations changed again for the 2026 season.
What makes up a power unit
In modern Formula 1 terminology, the power unit is the full propulsion package rather than the combustion engine alone. Under the hybrid rules used from 2014 to 2025, that package consists of six main elements: the internal combustion engine (ICE), turbocharger, MGU-K, MGU-H, energy store and control electronics.
The ICE is the part that burns fuel to create mechanical power. Alongside it sit the turbocharger, which compresses intake air, and the electrical systems that turn heat and braking energy into usable performance. The energy store is effectively the battery, while the control electronics manage the flow of electrical energy through the system.
That matters because an F1 car's performance comes from the interaction between these parts, not from the ICE in isolation. When teams or manufacturers discuss reliability penalties, component pools or development, they are usually referring to the wider power unit package.
ICE and ERS explained
The internal combustion engine, or ICE, is the combustion part of the power unit. In the 2014-2025 hybrid era, Formula 1 used 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines, but that specification is season-specific and should not be treated as a timeless rule.
ERS stands for Energy Recovery System. Its job is to capture energy that would otherwise be lost and then deploy it back through the power unit. In the hybrid era before 2026, this happened through two motor generator units: the MGU-K, which recovers energy under braking and can feed power back to the drivetrain, and the MGU-H, which is linked to the turbocharger and recovers energy from exhaust heat while also helping manage turbo speed.
Put simply, the ICE provides combustion power and the ERS adds a hybrid layer on top. That hybrid side improves efficiency as well as performance, because recovered energy can be stored and used later instead of being wasted as heat or braking loss.
What changes in 2026
Power unit regulations changed for the 2026 season, so current-spec details always need a date label. The 2026 rules keep Formula 1 as a turbo-hybrid formula, but they remove the MGU-H and place greater emphasis on electrical power from the MGU-K side of the system.
Fuel also became a central part of the 2026 shift, with the rules built around fully sustainable fuel. The broad aim was to reshape the balance between combustion and electrical power while keeping Formula 1 relevant to road-car and energy technology.
As a result, any explainer on F1 power units needs to separate stable concepts from season-bound specifications. The stable part is the vocabulary: the ICE is the combustion element, ERS is the energy recovery and deployment system, and the power unit is the whole hybrid assembly.