McLaren add unique real-time display to help Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri track 2026 energy levels

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McLaren have made a significant change to their steering wheel display to help Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri manage the increased electrical power due to F1’s 2026 rules.

The 2026 F1 regulations have almost tripled the output from the MGU-K to create close to a 50/50 split between electrical and combustion power in the new engine rules. But as F1 has also removed the expensive MGU-H, the recharge phase is now far more intense as a result.

Under the previous engine formulae that featured a 20/80 power share in favour of the ICE, the MGU-H dealt with most of the recovery of the electrical output. Now, drivers are having to lift and coast much earlier down the straights and even in some corners to regain energy.

Mercedes and Williams bosses Toto Wolff and James Vowles believe Red Bull gain up to one second a lap due to their superior energy management on the straights. Red Bull have built an engine, in partnership with Ford, for the first time ever after Honda joined Aston Martin.

Have the 2026 regulations made F1 worse, with Max Verstappen likening driving the new cars to Formula E?

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McLaren add real-time MGU-K tracing to Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s steering wheels

The first official pre-season test of the 2026 F1 season in Bahrain last week opened people’s eyes to the realities of the new engine regulations. But it appears that McLaren were aware of the challenge that Norris and Piastri will face dealing with energy management this year.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aero regulations

According to Motorsport-Total, McLaren revealed a ‘significantly expanded’ steering wheel display at the first Bahrain test that gives Norris and Piastri real-time data on precisely how the MGU-K in their Mercedes engine is operating at any given moment whilst out on track.

McLaren are the only team to adapt their steering wheel display to have a second bar that shows the MGU-K is using energy when the bar moves to the right and charging when the bar moves to the left. The bar even ‘disappears completely’ when the MGU-K is not in use.

The Woking squad’s rivals have chosen to stick with the generic single bar seen during F1’s previous rules cycle, which simply shows how much energy is stored in the battery. Norris and Piastri also still have the classic energy display, as well as McLaren’s enhanced display.

Fernando Alonso was 31mph slower through Bahrain’s Turn 12 due to F1’s 2026 energy management requirement

Norris and Piastri will see McLaren’s unique steering wheel display when they deploy their electrical energy or whilst recharging the battery either under braking, cornering slowly or lifting and coasting. If the ICE is the only power source, the new display will not be visible.

Many drivers were regularly having to save their electrical energy in some corners to avoid wasting energy that they required down on the straights at the first Bahrain test. Fernando Alonso even revealed that he went 50km/h (31mph) slower through Turn 12 than in 2025.

“Here in Bahrain, Turn 12 has historically been a very challenging corner,” Alonso stated, via Motorsport.com. “You used to choose your downforce level to go Turn 12 just flat. So, you removed downforce until you are in Turn 12, just flat with new tyres and then in the race.

“So, driver skill was [a] decisive factor to go fast in a lap time. Now, in Turn 12, we are like 50km/h slower because we don’t want to waste energy there, and we want to have all on the straights.

“So, to do Turn 12 instead of 260km/h (161mph) at 200km/h (124mph), you [the press] can drive the car [and] the chef can drive the car in Turn 12 at that speed.”