Life of a F1 Power Unit based on Piston Ring Pack Wear and Power Unit Allocation Strategy

The FIA Formula 1 2026 Sporting Regulations impose stricter requirements on Power Unit (PU) durability. From 2027, only three Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) will be allowed per car each season. Consequently, predicting the life of components and the expected performance degradation due to wear becomes crucial for teams to avoid grid penalties and maximize performance. This work aims to develop a wear-life model of the piston ring assembly for predicting performance degradation per race for a PU compliant with the FIA F1 2026 regulations. A representative ICE model, adhering to the FIA F1 2026 Technical Regulations, was developed in GT-Suite for estimating oil film thickness between piston rings and liner, and radial forces acting on the rings. A wear model was developed for predicting the mass of blow-by and resulting drop in cylinder pressure. Operating conditions of the engine obtained using telemetry were used to determine the actual number of engine cycles. This paper presents the logical steps followed for modelling the wear rate of a piston ring assembly in a Formula 1 engine for predicting the performance degradation across a season. This paper also proposes a PU allocation strategy for a racing season based on piston ring assembly wear life and performance degradation.