Ahead of the 2026 F1 Chinese GP, Alpine driver Franco Colapinto weighed in on the challenges posed by inconsistent battery deployment patterns, which have been affecting drivers and teams since the start of the season and the new regulation cycle.
The 2026 F1 regulations introduced massive changes to the cars, including adjustable front and rear wing elements and power distribution within the power unit, with the electric motor taking a more prominent role than in previous years. With the new distribution within the power unit, harvesting and deployment have become more important. During the first round of the 2026 F1 season, inconsistent battery deployment patterns could be observed. Drivers suddenly lost speed on the straights for seemingly inexplicable reasons.
F1 teams are pushing to find solutions
In the print media session ahead of the 2026 F1 Chinese GP, Alpine driver Franco Colapinto said the entire grid is working to find solutions to problems arising from the PU regulations, specifically the inconsistencies in battery deployment.
“As I said before, every team is working on it. It is really inconsistent. Everyone is working on fixes and solutions. I think we are all in the same boat, and everyone is fighting the same things.
“Again, it makes it interesting to see who can find those first and who can extract the most pace of all these PUs that I think no one is maximising yet.”
Colapinto on the race to get on top of the 2026 F1 regulations and bring solutions
Speaking on the inconsistencies in battery deployment, Colapinto points out that the cause is very difficult for the drivers to grasp. As a consequence, it will be crucial to understand the cause of the inconsistencies to bring solutions. The driver from Argentina believes that whichever team can get on top of the issue first in these early stages of the F1 2026 regulation cycle will be the fastest.
“It’s hard for us on the inside as well. It’s really hard to understand. It is very frustrating because sometimes you do a good lap and you are losing four tenths on the straight for you don’t really understand what.
“Again, what is going to be really important is to understand quickly why those happen. The teams that bring the most consistent package and PUs and balance are the ones that are going to be the quickest. Our race systems are going to be the best.
“It is really important. It is what we are all fighting against. It is sometimes frustrating, sometimes it is positive.
“The laps that you do at mega deployment you are so happy. You also don’t understand why sometimes it happens. Again, we are all working hard to get around those and get better at it.”
The cause for deployment inconsistencies is tricky to comprehend
With all teams working to find solutions in compliance with the 2026 F1 regulations, analysing the cause of time loss due to inconsistent deployment patterns can come down to the smallest of details, explains Colapinto.
“The issue is that it is really mini details. Sometimes it is a bit of minimum speed, sometimes it is like a downshift that you do too early or too late. It is extremely sensitive to whatever you do driving-wise and that is sometimes a little bit annoying because you are under control of everything that you do but that margin is so little and so minor that it is really hard to understand why things happen at times.”
Since the time loss due to deployment can come down to the tiniest of details, it’s harder to fix, as it may take days of poring over data to understand the cause. According to Colapinto, this delay can mean that a solution can’t be found during an F1 weekend.
“I think the worst thing is when you can’t understand why something happens because then you can’t fix it in the moment. Maybe then you go through the data for five days and you find a solution but it is way too late.
“I think it is something new and very interesting and every new track that we come, it is going to be completely the opposite to the other one and that also, I think, brings a bit more expectation to the teams, to the fans. It is a bit more up and down this year than previous ones.”
