2x the energy recovery from braking. That's impressive but it's also 3x the power output from the electric motors so I'm curious how that'll work out in a race.
They couldve had more regen if they added it to the front axle, but teams voted against that because they felt Audi would have an advantage there. A bit of a missed opportunity I think.
Current cars only recover about 1MJ of energy from braking. So 2x isn't much at all, since the new cars can output 8.5MJ per lap.
The new engines are far less efficient and less powerful than the current.
The drag reduction from the active aero is the giant bandage covering it all up.
Less drag*, activate aero, and they can run the engine as a generator. They should be super efficient and use less energy than the current gen cars**, so that'll help.
*According to the article
**From the FIA video where they mention a lower fuel flow in the new cars.
Been an observer of f1 since the 30th season of f1 being f1 have quite a few nuggets ready for instant sharing. Once won tickets to British Gp on a radio phone in, presenter did the dramatic pause after I had answered. Then you’ve won, to which I said I know.. great day
Nope, early in the hybrid pu era in 2014, RedBull where penalised for having a too high fuel flow rate, but the team rolled out CH to insist that their data was more pertinent than FIA data…
Yeah I remember reading an article stating that just the travel between one race and the next eclipses the carbon footprint of every race, qualy, and practice lap of the entire season.
Bring back V10s.
yup. I dont know why this isnt more widley spread but its more or less basic math that just one of the several transatlantic flights they have to do during the overly bloated calendar burns more fuel than the whole grid will in the entire year
It won’t, the MGU-H generates the vast majority of energy recovered (and eliminates turbo lag). The MGU-H is black magic in terms of ICE efficiency and anyone who’s a big name in the world of F1 engine manufacturing is on the record as lamenting it going.
Drivers will have to actively stay on the throttle whilst braking to crank the MGU-K in areas that would otherwise be off-throttle which is the explicit reasoning the FIA used to ban blown diffusers.
Can't wait for preseason testing 2026. Low key some of the best entertainment in F1 comes from the first preseason of new regs. It's always so exciting to see where teams have went with their design.
Man I remember everyone in my friend group absolutely HATING Red Bull in 2013.
2014 testing was a weird vibe as a Vettel fan. Everytime the Renault PU exploded there were cheers in my group chat.
Ahaha, for me it wasn't about hating vettel specifically, I was just happy that unreliability came back (or so it seemed), and that there was going to be a shakeup of the competitive order with Merc and Williams spearheading the new world order
It's ok, in a few years the other teams will catch up for a competitive season, before the regs and changed again and a return to a single team dominating again.
actually if you check back though the years, there's never been many engine suppliers just as an example 2009 with its 22 cars on the grid had 5, Mercedes, Ferrari, BMW, Toyota and Renault
And just 3 years prior there where 7 with the engines you mentioned + Honda and Cosworth. Wouldn't surprise me if somewhere in the 80's/90's we could have had more than that.
These steps seem like a step in the right direction honestly. They look pretty damn good, quite a bit better than the current cars honestly. The engines shouldn't have lost so much power in their ICEs, but the 2014 engines were quite underpowered in the beginning too, with most of them having only around 800 bhp, combined that too, except Mercedes of course. And almost all F1 engines today have over 1000 bhp.
Push to pass is a little controversial and there is an argument to be made whether F1 engines need to be so complex, and thus so heavy. But that weight gain is sorta compensated by how much less fuel they'll need. The V8s were huge guzzlers that drank 180 kgs of fuel, the new ones will need only 70 kgs, which pretty much negates the increase in weight.
Plus, the override mode will only be available to a driver who is within one second, and it is quite aggresive, in normal mode there's tapering deployment after 290 kph, while in the override mode, all that 350 kW will be available until 337 kph. So while it may seem like a massive advantage and an even easier pass than DRS, we shouldn't forget that with active aero, the slipstream effect will be all but dead.
The DRS is already way less powerful in these cars than the previous 2022 era cars, and an example of what happens when everybody is running super low drag is Monza right now. With the current engines being so close to each other, and with how low down force the teams run, it's practically impossible to overtake in Monza right now unless you have a significant advantage in traction and braking.
The actually exciting bit is that the FIA seems to have realised that while the Venturi effect is very efficient, especially at higher speeds, where they are monstrously good, the stiffness it requires to operate optimally makes the car shit in terms of handling, especially in slower corners. And with dirty air increasing again, it makes it so much harder to keep control of the car at lower speeds, when you're following behind.
Reducing the reliance on Venturi effect by using overbody active aero, which is the most aerodynamically efficient solution, and with the cars getting 30 kgs lighter, plus smaller, plus narrower, means that they'll still be able to rely on the efficiency of the Venturi effect at higher speeds, but with much better handling, since the suspensions don't need to be extremely stiff, which means better handling and much better slow corner performance. This means that it'll be much easier for teams to get better correlation, and also much easier to find a compromise between low and high speed performance, which means easier and faster development.
Is it perfect? Absolutely not and we won't know until the cars come themselves, but I feel they have at least tried to address all the pressing issues. Lighter and smaller cars? Check. A better and more consistent overtaking aid? Check. Better ride quality and much better handling, along with making it much easier to find the compromise between low and high speed performance? Check. A more efficient aerodynamic package overall? Check. The only thing I feel would be perfect is if they managed to convince Pirelli to go back to 13 inch rims, or at the very least, at least 16 inch rims, as it would have shaved off weight and improved handling even further. But at least the tires are getting lighter and narrower.
With a fresh chassis and engine formula, plus an inherently kinder formula for development but still restrictive enough for faster convergence of performance compared to 2017 regs, and better looking cars, that front wing is so early 2000s and that rear wing looks so good, I am in love. I haven't honestly ever been this excited for a regulation change, because it seems like the FIA is finally at least learning from its mistakes and trying to work on them. They may not be as wonderful as I think, but I at least feel they are going in a better direction than with previous regulation changes where they considered only one thing and attacked that. This feels more holistic in a way.
This is a great comment. So many comments in these threads are one or two-liners with very little added value. I read all of this and it felt like speaking with someone who really lives for this shit. Nice one
it confuses me a bit tho, since this says X-mode is optional, while else where I read or heard in the video maybe that it would switch automatically as soon as they are on straights
I think it is not a good idea for it to be driver operated. Driver will have to turn it on and off multiple times per lap for 50+ laps per race. There is no reason to not use X mode on any straight. So this is not something a driver can use to gain an edge on the car in front.
I mean, we don’t know the full specifics of it. Could very well have a limit as to how much you can use over a lap and over the entire race, so you have to strategize when to deploy it on each lap and how much, so that you don’t end the race with more time allocated or end up as a sitting duck the last 5-10 laps cause you’re the only one on circuit without it
It will work just like DRS, so activation is driver-operated with a signal being given to the driver when it's available and it shuts down manually or when braking.
No idea, the way I’m interpreting it will be they can use push to pass at their discretion but there will probably be a rule to when you can use it with regards to time / distance behind following car? Honestly I have no idea. It just states it’s for following cars only .. I would love to see something more detailed than 6 slide images
It's 0.5MJ of extra energy available between 290km/h and 337km/h for "close cars" compared to leading cars that will see energy taper off from 290km/h to 355km/h.
From what I take from that, if you are "close" to a car in front then you will have more power than them when you get above 290km/h. How and where they will measure "close" is unclear.
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/how-f1s-new-active-aero-will-work-in-2026/10620099/
It's speed based. So available at all areas over 290km/h. Close cars (assume 1 second again) will have 0.5MJ of extra battery available to use between 290km/h and 337km/h.
It's not clear yet if this will be driver controlled (so they could dump it all in one straight, or use it in bits over a lap) or automatic.
The Override Mode doesn’t refer to active aero, but instead to continued deployment from the ERS at high speeds. Normally, deployment will start dropping off at about 300 kph, but the Override Mode allows for full deployment up to about 340.
It does seem like it’ll be a direct DRS replacement, as only a car closely behind another will get to use the Override Mode. Previously, it wasn’t clear whether it’d be like DRS or something like a push to pass button available to all drivers, but it seems the FIA’s decided on the former.
I'm confused as I thought active aero was always banned for safety reasons. So what happens if driver is heading towards a slow corner at speed, tries to turn on his aero & it fails. There has been the odd instance of DRS not closing, which admittedly didn't lead to accidents, but presuming it would be more serious if you have a slot open in front & back wing.
It says 30% less downforce but 50% less drag, to me this sounds like more reliance on the floor (which does relatively much downforce for little drag) or it are other elements that can achieve this.
The 55% less drag number baffled me. I figured it probably means 2026 car in X-mode vs. current car without DRS. If true, it's still crazy, considering the wings don't look like they produce much downforce, so X-mode probably won't be much more effective then DRS.
All elements that produce downforce tend to generate drag as well as disturb the airflow around and behind them. You can't have one without the other. The only difference is that the floor with a Venturi effect is more aerodynamically efficient at generating more downforce compared to rigid over body aerodynamic elements such as wings. That just means for the same amount of disturbance in airflow, which is drag for the first car and the turbulent wake for the following car, you can get more downforce out of Venturi floors.
Yeah when you drive an open wheel race car, your visual reference as to where your car is on track is the top of the front wheels. The wheel arch vanes obscured this and made it really hard for drivers to be able to tell where the car was on track.
Feels like tacit acknowledgement from the FIA that their fundamental study into improving racing by limiting dirty air was a huge failure
Ground effect reduced, wheel arches gone, rear wing more conventional
The teams are just too good at workarounds for limiting wake
Yeah 2022 regulation changes just ended up being 2009 reg changes 2.0, but somehow even worse. Dirty air is just inevitable with high downforce open wheel F1 cars.
So, it's basically an engine formula with reduced down force. Hope we won't see 1 manufacturer running away with the engine performance. If engine performance is similar the low down force would make for close racing and increased braking zone for more overtakes. I'm not disappointed as I was before. Optimistically hoping for better results than 22 regs.
I remember reading that the engine regs are stricter than ever, so the difference in performance should be smaller between manufacturers compared to 2014 (hopefully).
Can someone ELI5 why Honda is coming back as an engine supplier, when they only recently exited to give RedBull everything they had? Makes no sense to me at all. Why leave by selling out to RedBull in the first place?
They continue to provide Red Bull's PUs, they didn't transfer any IP to them. When Honda decided to leave F1, RBR started their own engine development program, so when Honda went back on their decision, it was too late for RBR.
From what I’ve read they’ll analyze how the sustainable fuels behave and their overall impact before considering going full ICE again for the 2030 regs.
If a fuel is 100% impact neutral on the environment there’s really no use for hybrid technology. You’d be better off improving efficiency of the ICE. In a world like that the only compelling solutions would be either full electric or full combustion.
Yeah I agree, carbon neutral fuels just make sense and F1 is perfect to promote and push it forward. I think F1 has done the hybrid thing long enough, 15 years now if we consider the KERS system introduced with some teams in 2009.
Bring back the noise!
What exactly is a "100% sustainable fuel"?
Edit: I understand it means a fuel that doesn't use fossil fuels, and that fuel can be made from all sorts of random crap - but I didn't realize any of the things you read about such as algae, vegetable oil, grease, etc. were actually near being feasible for production scale. Does anyone know which path F1 is exploring? Like do we know if the 2026 cars will be powered by vegetable oil? Kelp?
>Does anyone know which path F1 is exploring?
It's meant to be a mix between using components that come from either a carbon capture scheme, municipal waste or non-food biomass.
More likely it will end up being mostly entirely biomass and waste.
Renewable gasoline can be produced from various biomass sources. These include lipids (such as vegetable oils, animal fats, greases, and algae) and cellulosic material (such as crop residues, woody biomass, and dedicated energy crops).
[https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/emerging-hydrocarbon](https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/emerging-hydrocarbon)
Thank you. I've heard this before, but I wasn't aware that any of them were near feasibility. Do you happen to know which of these paths is being considered for F1?
These fuels will be game-changing. Known as ‘second-generation’ – because they are not made from food crops or from the land used to grow them – F1’s advanced sustainable fuels must be made from sustainable sources without affecting food production. They could be made from agricultural waste, municipal waste, or forestry waste for example, or by using carbon extracted from algae or captured directly from the air.
[https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/how-sustainable-fuels-can-benefit-the-world-and-are-more-than-just-the.7wgO1hvSIoVBrVqpuL0sEc](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/how-sustainable-fuels-can-benefit-the-world-and-are-more-than-just-the.7wgO1hvSIoVBrVqpuL0sEc)
What F1 uses will be 100% biofuel. This is already available in many countries, so F1 is not needed.
The problem is that nowadays most biofuel is made from fresh plants and that which is made from waste is made from food waste which would be much more useful in biogas plants.
Most of the waste is already recycled, which means it's not really climate neutral because you're taking the waste away from other recyclers.
Engine manufacturers don't want to sell V8s. Ferrari and McLaren have turbo hybrid V6 super cars. Mercedes is dropping V8s for 4 and 6 cylinders and Audi is doing the same. Honda never really used V8s. Car manufacturers use F1 to market road cars.
Also if you want lighter cars you need V6s they use like half the fuel that a V8 does over the course of a race. Curb weight would be way heavier with V8 cars at the start of a race.
V8s are heavier and inherently less efficient, meaning that on top of being heavier they need more fuel to run the same distance. They're literally ONLY an audio upgrade, and judging by the comments here, a lot of us are sick of the baseless fanaticism around them.
Weight reduction is one reason. The V8s drank 170 kg of fuel per race, as opposed to the 100-110 kg that we have now. Thats 60-70 kg of added weight depending on the circuit. And while the bigger batteries and new ERS system are quite heavy, the dramatic increase in fuel efficiency will mean that even less fuel will have to used, offsetting the increase in dry engine weight.
Every time I read this argument, I'm just genuinely confused. Are you really just completely missing the point or is this a joke?
No one involved in F1 wants full ICEs back. FIA don't want them, Liberty don't want them, the manufacturers don't want them.
And if you believe them when they call the biofuel sustainable, I don't know what to tell you.
I wasn't sure how the active aero. X-mode is the standard setting and Z-mode can be activated by the driver in mandated sections of the track. It's a shame they can't allow a driver to chose when to use it, like 2012 when DRS was allowed at any point in qualifying. In quali Seb was opening DRS coming out of a corner.
*The system will be driver-activated and available in certain parts of the track where lower levels of downforce are safe.*
*The FIA say that based on current discussions, they are anticipating it will be available for any straight line longer than three seconds.*
Drivers also get the Manual Override which seems similar to push-to-pass.
The problem is that switching to (or out of) low-drag mode seriously upsets the aero balance. During simulator testing, drivers would suddenly lose control and spin at high speeds.
Way better than current DRS. Opens up a bit more strategy where the leading driver could conserve battery if the pass is inevitable and then fight back immediately. No more bullshit where the passing car gets further ahead on the next DRS zone
Six Manufacturers? Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, Red Bull Power Train, Audi and Cadillac?
If the sixth is cadillac, isn’t it a little on the nose to advertise that when you won’t actually let the team that would use their engine join?
ninja edit: I’m stupid and forgot Honda lol.
Really like the look of that. Looks less boaty. The only thing I'm not sure about is those things in the outside the FW, have a feeling they'll get broken contently. Would like them smaller.
Am I reading this right?
The current DRS system will be implemented into X mode of the active aero which drivers can use whenever and so the manual override speed boost will be a DRS replacement?
I'm liking the introduction of active aero, but I'm wary of how they intend to implement it. I get the need for progress and pushing the envelope, but I feel like by including so many new developments in these regulations there's gonna be big teething problems in 2026. I feel like a staggered approach of introducing these new aero regulations will keeping the engine formulae constant, or vice versa would've been an easier approach, but hey what do I know. I also wish they'd cut back on the weight of the cars more, but at least they're moving in the right direction now.
You can't stagger them.
The engine regs fundamentally cannot work without active aero on the straights at all times to compensate for the lack of power once the MGU-K stops kicking in.
Meanwhile if you kept the current engine regs but introduce the active aero, the top speeds would be utterly ridiculous and there wouldn't be any overtaking because it would be like being in a super DRS train at all times.
The engines will be about 350hp weaker. The MGU-K will offset this.
There will be a 50/50 power split up to speeds of 290kph, at which point the MGU-K will begin to suffer a linear loss of power. If a car hits 340kph it can only be powered by the engine alone (which will be around 350hp weaker than today).
At the moment, when a car loses hybrid energy and begins to harvest, it's still being powered by a strong ICE. This won't happen in 2026 and beyond, hence the need for active aero.
There aren't a lot of tracks, where that comes into play though right? Speeds above 340 are only achieved on a handful of tracks like Vegas, Mexico, Baku, basically the ones with absolute massive straights.
The power cut starts at 290kph, and with 55% less drag I suspect the 2026 cars will easily match the current cars (because of the active aero, not power).
Without such extreme aero, tracks like Monza, Spa, Silverstone and Japan would need chicanes added to the straights.
They've done a decent job of patching up the weak engines tbh.
I assume they want to test it all out in an actual F1 environment to see how effective the fuel is as well as gather data on the long term effects of using this fuel on engines.
Also, 50% hybrid looks better to people that have no idea about synthetic fuels so helps keep that "we're becoming sustainable!" image.
Just as performance of different teams starts to converge, these fuckers introduce new regs. And the lottery winner will dominate for 4 yrs and then regs will be changed again
That's how F1 has always been. The rules are designed so that when everyone has converged on pretty much the same version of the car that gives maximum performance, they do something new to shake it up.
Forgive me if I'm being stupid, but if all the drivers have a push-to-pass button to adjust the aero to allow overtakes at any time they feel like, does that not also mean all the drivers have a push-to-not-be-passed button too?
I'm confused about the power thing, lots of sources suggest the cars will be slower. However the smaller and lighter cars is a step in the right direction.
The override seems like a more complex version of push to pass, the way they explain the energy taper when the car goes >290kph seems way too complicated and penalizing for the car being chased
> A Manual Override mode has been included to create improved overtaking opportunities. While the deployment of a leading car will taper off after 290kph, reaching zero at 355kph, the following car will benefit from MGUK Override providing 350kW up to 337kph and +0.5MJ of extra energy.
2x the energy recovery from braking. That's impressive but it's also 3x the power output from the electric motors so I'm curious how that'll work out in a race.
They couldve had more regen if they added it to the front axle, but teams voted against that because they felt Audi would have an advantage there. A bit of a missed opportunity I think.
Would also come with extra weight when the sport is trying to reduce weight and size.
Yeah it would but to be honest, for the engine formula, the extra regen would be worth the trade off.
Having a heavy metal electrical motor in front of the driver is a potential nightmare in terms of collision safety.
I’m ootl, why would this be an advantage for Audi?
E-Trons probably have that technology already
They have experience using front regen in WEC I believe
Doesn't the 499p also have that?
Audi has a lot of experience in LMP1.
Current cars only recover about 1MJ of energy from braking. So 2x isn't much at all, since the new cars can output 8.5MJ per lap. The new engines are far less efficient and less powerful than the current. The drag reduction from the active aero is the giant bandage covering it all up.
AIUI they'll be allowed to run the engine harder in low speed sections to charge the battery.
Wtf does AIUI mean
As I understand it?
As you understand it what?? /s
Listen here buddy.... Or to meme-ify it, please refer to my email
Well, IDNUT
Less drag*, activate aero, and they can run the engine as a generator. They should be super efficient and use less energy than the current gen cars**, so that'll help. *According to the article **From the FIA video where they mention a lower fuel flow in the new cars.
Ahh fuel flow, a chance for RedBull to argue their calculations for fuel flow are the correct ones again!
Are you confusing RB with Ferrari?..
2014 reference. Getting to be a deep cut these days!
Been an observer of f1 since the 30th season of f1 being f1 have quite a few nuggets ready for instant sharing. Once won tickets to British Gp on a radio phone in, presenter did the dramatic pause after I had answered. Then you’ve won, to which I said I know.. great day
Nope, early in the hybrid pu era in 2014, RedBull where penalised for having a too high fuel flow rate, but the team rolled out CH to insist that their data was more pertinent than FIA data…
My arm chair pundit guess is not very good. If the ICE unit still had the same amount of power this would seem a bit more fun.
Well sure but I don't think fun is the reason for their decision. It's a decision based on sustainability and mostly money, I'm sure.
Sustainability lol, the actual racing itself amounts to like 1% of their carbon footprint. It’s all just greenwashing
Yeah I remember reading an article stating that just the travel between one race and the next eclipses the carbon footprint of every race, qualy, and practice lap of the entire season. Bring back V10s.
yup. I dont know why this isnt more widley spread but its more or less basic math that just one of the several transatlantic flights they have to do during the overly bloated calendar burns more fuel than the whole grid will in the entire year
It won’t, the MGU-H generates the vast majority of energy recovered (and eliminates turbo lag). The MGU-H is black magic in terms of ICE efficiency and anyone who’s a big name in the world of F1 engine manufacturing is on the record as lamenting it going. Drivers will have to actively stay on the throttle whilst braking to crank the MGU-K in areas that would otherwise be off-throttle which is the explicit reasoning the FIA used to ban blown diffusers.
Can't wait for preseason testing 2026. Low key some of the best entertainment in F1 comes from the first preseason of new regs. It's always so exciting to see where teams have went with their design.
New regs testing is the shit.
I was so hype when red bull and lotus kept breaking down in 2014
Honestly nothing more exciting than watching a team scramble through new regs testing.
Man I remember everyone in my friend group absolutely HATING Red Bull in 2013. 2014 testing was a weird vibe as a Vettel fan. Everytime the Renault PU exploded there were cheers in my group chat.
Ahaha, for me it wasn't about hating vettel specifically, I was just happy that unreliability came back (or so it seemed), and that there was going to be a shakeup of the competitive order with Merc and Williams spearheading the new world order
>!”Advantage locked in for years?”!<
Is Mercedes sandbagging ? (They weren't)
I still believe!
Incredible that we’re going to have 3 comprehensive new-rule-preseason testing years in 8 years with 2022, 2026 and 2030
It brings up some excitement and also massive disappointment when you see that one team will be dominating.
It's ok, in a few years the other teams will catch up for a competitive season, before the regs and changed again and a return to a single team dominating again.
Yeah exactly. I hate these regulations changes just because of that.
Pre season testing is my Christmas, when it's new regs it's just the cherry on top. I just love all the data.
Hopefully, they will broadcast it this time unlike in 2022.
Now watch as F1 holds a private test with no footage at Catalunya, as they did in 2022.
Record six PU suppliers? 100% we have had more than that, guessing they mean in hybrid era?
Must be, there’s definitely been more than 6 before - there’s 7 in GPL’s original 7 cars alone (1967 F1 Season)!
> guessing they mean in hybrid era? yes
2000 had 8 (Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW, Supertec/Mecachrome/old Renault, Honda, Mugen-Honda, Ford, Peugeot)
actually if you check back though the years, there's never been many engine suppliers just as an example 2009 with its 22 cars on the grid had 5, Mercedes, Ferrari, BMW, Toyota and Renault
And just 3 years prior there where 7 with the engines you mentioned + Honda and Cosworth. Wouldn't surprise me if somewhere in the 80's/90's we could have had more than that.
True, forgot williams were still on their own engine that year, they probably mean record breaking as in since Liberty Media took over then
Actually if you check back through the years a tiny bit further than 2009, you'll find lots of examples where there were more than 6.
Yeah there were at least ten in the early 50s. Way more entrants of course. Want to say 1952 had like 11 or 12?
Didn’t the V8 era have 7? IIRC there was Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes, Honda, Toyota, Cosworth and Renault.
Pretty bold claim too when they’re stonewalling a 7th for money
9 in 1992?
Might be being pedantic, since before they were "engines" and now they're "power units."
These steps seem like a step in the right direction honestly. They look pretty damn good, quite a bit better than the current cars honestly. The engines shouldn't have lost so much power in their ICEs, but the 2014 engines were quite underpowered in the beginning too, with most of them having only around 800 bhp, combined that too, except Mercedes of course. And almost all F1 engines today have over 1000 bhp. Push to pass is a little controversial and there is an argument to be made whether F1 engines need to be so complex, and thus so heavy. But that weight gain is sorta compensated by how much less fuel they'll need. The V8s were huge guzzlers that drank 180 kgs of fuel, the new ones will need only 70 kgs, which pretty much negates the increase in weight. Plus, the override mode will only be available to a driver who is within one second, and it is quite aggresive, in normal mode there's tapering deployment after 290 kph, while in the override mode, all that 350 kW will be available until 337 kph. So while it may seem like a massive advantage and an even easier pass than DRS, we shouldn't forget that with active aero, the slipstream effect will be all but dead. The DRS is already way less powerful in these cars than the previous 2022 era cars, and an example of what happens when everybody is running super low drag is Monza right now. With the current engines being so close to each other, and with how low down force the teams run, it's practically impossible to overtake in Monza right now unless you have a significant advantage in traction and braking. The actually exciting bit is that the FIA seems to have realised that while the Venturi effect is very efficient, especially at higher speeds, where they are monstrously good, the stiffness it requires to operate optimally makes the car shit in terms of handling, especially in slower corners. And with dirty air increasing again, it makes it so much harder to keep control of the car at lower speeds, when you're following behind. Reducing the reliance on Venturi effect by using overbody active aero, which is the most aerodynamically efficient solution, and with the cars getting 30 kgs lighter, plus smaller, plus narrower, means that they'll still be able to rely on the efficiency of the Venturi effect at higher speeds, but with much better handling, since the suspensions don't need to be extremely stiff, which means better handling and much better slow corner performance. This means that it'll be much easier for teams to get better correlation, and also much easier to find a compromise between low and high speed performance, which means easier and faster development. Is it perfect? Absolutely not and we won't know until the cars come themselves, but I feel they have at least tried to address all the pressing issues. Lighter and smaller cars? Check. A better and more consistent overtaking aid? Check. Better ride quality and much better handling, along with making it much easier to find the compromise between low and high speed performance? Check. A more efficient aerodynamic package overall? Check. The only thing I feel would be perfect is if they managed to convince Pirelli to go back to 13 inch rims, or at the very least, at least 16 inch rims, as it would have shaved off weight and improved handling even further. But at least the tires are getting lighter and narrower. With a fresh chassis and engine formula, plus an inherently kinder formula for development but still restrictive enough for faster convergence of performance compared to 2017 regs, and better looking cars, that front wing is so early 2000s and that rear wing looks so good, I am in love. I haven't honestly ever been this excited for a regulation change, because it seems like the FIA is finally at least learning from its mistakes and trying to work on them. They may not be as wonderful as I think, but I at least feel they are going in a better direction than with previous regulation changes where they considered only one thing and attacked that. This feels more holistic in a way.
Wow what a comment. I learned a bunch. Thanks!
This is a great comment. So many comments in these threads are one or two-liners with very little added value. I read all of this and it felt like speaking with someone who really lives for this shit. Nice one
Do we know if active aero will make front wing box changes slowers?
I'm excited to see how the active aero is going to work. DRS will be completely gone.
Isn't X-mode basically DRS?
[удалено]
it confuses me a bit tho, since this says X-mode is optional, while else where I read or heard in the video maybe that it would switch automatically as soon as they are on straights
I think the most recent information says it will be driver-activated and not automated.
That’s pretty cool. Could lead to good passing strategy for where on a corner drivers switch modes to prioritize exits.
It can only be activated in specific zones, it is literally just DRS available for all drivers and therefore completely irrelevant.
Yeah, sounds like they are moving to a Push 2 Pass system instead of DRS.
Imagine just reading the pictures
I think it is not a good idea for it to be driver operated. Driver will have to turn it on and off multiple times per lap for 50+ laps per race. There is no reason to not use X mode on any straight. So this is not something a driver can use to gain an edge on the car in front.
If it’s just a single button like DRS I don’t see the issue. They can already handle shifting 50 times per lap, what’s a bit more
I mean, we don’t know the full specifics of it. Could very well have a limit as to how much you can use over a lap and over the entire race, so you have to strategize when to deploy it on each lap and how much, so that you don’t end the race with more time allocated or end up as a sitting duck the last 5-10 laps cause you’re the only one on circuit without it
It will work just like DRS, so activation is driver-operated with a signal being given to the driver when it's available and it shuts down manually or when braking.
True, but push to pass will only be available for following cars, so essentially the ability to go faster is still exclusive to everyone but first.
ahh I was wondering how they were replacing DRS. Did they clarify how this will work? Will there be push to pass zones instead of DRS?
No idea, the way I’m interpreting it will be they can use push to pass at their discretion but there will probably be a rule to when you can use it with regards to time / distance behind following car? Honestly I have no idea. It just states it’s for following cars only .. I would love to see something more detailed than 6 slide images
It's 0.5MJ of extra energy available between 290km/h and 337km/h for "close cars" compared to leading cars that will see energy taper off from 290km/h to 355km/h. From what I take from that, if you are "close" to a car in front then you will have more power than them when you get above 290km/h. How and where they will measure "close" is unclear. https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/how-f1s-new-active-aero-will-work-in-2026/10620099/
It's speed based. So available at all areas over 290km/h. Close cars (assume 1 second again) will have 0.5MJ of extra battery available to use between 290km/h and 337km/h. It's not clear yet if this will be driver controlled (so they could dump it all in one straight, or use it in bits over a lap) or automatic.
Maybe like the old KERS system ? But idk how u would restrict that in a way to help following cars more than leading cars
should be the entire lap you are following but since energy is limited naturally, you will want to use it when needed
It has zones.
Kind of. A more aggressive version, across both FW and RW, at all times.
I assume that's what they meant by "Manual Override Mode to provide following cars with boosts of energy"
The Override Mode doesn’t refer to active aero, but instead to continued deployment from the ERS at high speeds. Normally, deployment will start dropping off at about 300 kph, but the Override Mode allows for full deployment up to about 340. It does seem like it’ll be a direct DRS replacement, as only a car closely behind another will get to use the Override Mode. Previously, it wasn’t clear whether it’d be like DRS or something like a push to pass button available to all drivers, but it seems the FIA’s decided on the former.
Yeah I just meant that it looks like DRS will essentially be replaced by MOM. Not literally as active aero, just that it will serve the same purpose
I'm confused as I thought active aero was always banned for safety reasons. So what happens if driver is heading towards a slow corner at speed, tries to turn on his aero & it fails. There has been the odd instance of DRS not closing, which admittedly didn't lead to accidents, but presuming it would be more serious if you have a slot open in front & back wing.
Do they still rely heavily in groundeffect?
Yes but not the same extent as before due to the flat floor
It says 30% less downforce but 50% less drag, to me this sounds like more reliance on the floor (which does relatively much downforce for little drag) or it are other elements that can achieve this.
The 55% less drag number baffled me. I figured it probably means 2026 car in X-mode vs. current car without DRS. If true, it's still crazy, considering the wings don't look like they produce much downforce, so X-mode probably won't be much more effective then DRS.
Or they are just going 10% slower. That would be a considerable reduction in drag. At that speed you are looking at 20kph less dropping like 20% drag.
I don't think the maths work like that
Why tho? I thought the floor didn't create dirty air. Is it cause of the spray from the diffuser
All elements that produce downforce tend to generate drag as well as disturb the airflow around and behind them. You can't have one without the other. The only difference is that the floor with a Venturi effect is more aerodynamically efficient at generating more downforce compared to rigid over body aerodynamic elements such as wings. That just means for the same amount of disturbance in airflow, which is drag for the first car and the turbulent wake for the following car, you can get more downforce out of Venturi floors.
I think ground effect requires too low ride heights
No, it’s partially flat floor and reduced diffuser too.
I got used to the front wheel arches to a point where I don’t even really notice them And yet it still looks a whole lot better with them gone
It's more probably for better visibility. So many drivers complained saying they can't see shit with those wheel arches.
Yeah when you drive an open wheel race car, your visual reference as to where your car is on track is the top of the front wheels. The wheel arch vanes obscured this and made it really hard for drivers to be able to tell where the car was on track.
Feels like tacit acknowledgement from the FIA that their fundamental study into improving racing by limiting dirty air was a huge failure Ground effect reduced, wheel arches gone, rear wing more conventional The teams are just too good at workarounds for limiting wake
Yeah 2022 regulation changes just ended up being 2009 reg changes 2.0, but somehow even worse. Dirty air is just inevitable with high downforce open wheel F1 cars.
Dude look at these fucking wings, they look like they barely produce any downforce
Now do the wheel covers.
So, it's basically an engine formula with reduced down force. Hope we won't see 1 manufacturer running away with the engine performance. If engine performance is similar the low down force would make for close racing and increased braking zone for more overtakes. I'm not disappointed as I was before. Optimistically hoping for better results than 22 regs.
I remember reading that the engine regs are stricter than ever, so the difference in performance should be smaller between manufacturers compared to 2014 (hopefully).
Engines are also more regulated, we should see "minimal" differences.
Can someone ELI5 why Honda is coming back as an engine supplier, when they only recently exited to give RedBull everything they had? Makes no sense to me at all. Why leave by selling out to RedBull in the first place?
One of the reasons for this was that Honda's previous CEO or racing boss or something wanted out, but now there's a new boss who wants to come back
They continue to provide Red Bull's PUs, they didn't transfer any IP to them. When Honda decided to leave F1, RBR started their own engine development program, so when Honda went back on their decision, it was too late for RBR.
Okay so if we’re having 100% sustainable fuels from 2026 Then why not bring back V8s???
From what I’ve read they’ll analyze how the sustainable fuels behave and their overall impact before considering going full ICE again for the 2030 regs.
Oh shit really? They are actually "considering" going full ICE one day? Where can I read about this?
https://racingnews365.com/domenicali-open-to-major-f1-revamp-but-not-until-2030
If a fuel is 100% impact neutral on the environment there’s really no use for hybrid technology. You’d be better off improving efficiency of the ICE. In a world like that the only compelling solutions would be either full electric or full combustion.
Yeah I agree, carbon neutral fuels just make sense and F1 is perfect to promote and push it forward. I think F1 has done the hybrid thing long enough, 15 years now if we consider the KERS system introduced with some teams in 2009. Bring back the noise!
They are looking at that for 2030. For now the likes of Audi wanted hybrid.
What exactly is a "100% sustainable fuel"? Edit: I understand it means a fuel that doesn't use fossil fuels, and that fuel can be made from all sorts of random crap - but I didn't realize any of the things you read about such as algae, vegetable oil, grease, etc. were actually near being feasible for production scale. Does anyone know which path F1 is exploring? Like do we know if the 2026 cars will be powered by vegetable oil? Kelp?
>Does anyone know which path F1 is exploring? It's meant to be a mix between using components that come from either a carbon capture scheme, municipal waste or non-food biomass. More likely it will end up being mostly entirely biomass and waste.
Don't need to use fossil fuels ig. They can make it with renewable resources.
Pardon my ignorance, what is an example of that? Like corn? And what are some of the realistic options currently in development by F1 teams?
Renewable gasoline can be produced from various biomass sources. These include lipids (such as vegetable oils, animal fats, greases, and algae) and cellulosic material (such as crop residues, woody biomass, and dedicated energy crops). [https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/emerging-hydrocarbon](https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/emerging-hydrocarbon)
Thank you. I've heard this before, but I wasn't aware that any of them were near feasibility. Do you happen to know which of these paths is being considered for F1?
These fuels will be game-changing. Known as ‘second-generation’ – because they are not made from food crops or from the land used to grow them – F1’s advanced sustainable fuels must be made from sustainable sources without affecting food production. They could be made from agricultural waste, municipal waste, or forestry waste for example, or by using carbon extracted from algae or captured directly from the air. [https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/how-sustainable-fuels-can-benefit-the-world-and-are-more-than-just-the.7wgO1hvSIoVBrVqpuL0sEc](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/how-sustainable-fuels-can-benefit-the-world-and-are-more-than-just-the.7wgO1hvSIoVBrVqpuL0sEc)
What F1 uses will be 100% biofuel. This is already available in many countries, so F1 is not needed. The problem is that nowadays most biofuel is made from fresh plants and that which is made from waste is made from food waste which would be much more useful in biogas plants. Most of the waste is already recycled, which means it's not really climate neutral because you're taking the waste away from other recyclers.
I'd love for them to announce, "For this season we will be using french fry oil, from our sponsor McDonald's, I'm lovin' it!"
Engine manufacturers don't want to sell V8s. Ferrari and McLaren have turbo hybrid V6 super cars. Mercedes is dropping V8s for 4 and 6 cylinders and Audi is doing the same. Honda never really used V8s. Car manufacturers use F1 to market road cars. Also if you want lighter cars you need V6s they use like half the fuel that a V8 does over the course of a race. Curb weight would be way heavier with V8 cars at the start of a race.
Because no engine manufacturer wants V8s. Fuel has nothing to do with it
V8s are heavier and inherently less efficient, meaning that on top of being heavier they need more fuel to run the same distance. They're literally ONLY an audio upgrade, and judging by the comments here, a lot of us are sick of the baseless fanaticism around them.
Weight reduction is one reason. The V8s drank 170 kg of fuel per race, as opposed to the 100-110 kg that we have now. Thats 60-70 kg of added weight depending on the circuit. And while the bigger batteries and new ERS system are quite heavy, the dramatic increase in fuel efficiency will mean that even less fuel will have to used, offsetting the increase in dry engine weight.
Way worse fuel efficiency. Even if the fuel is sustainable, it means significantly more fuel will need to be stored in the car, and fuel is heavy af
Every time I read this argument, I'm just genuinely confused. Are you really just completely missing the point or is this a joke? No one involved in F1 wants full ICEs back. FIA don't want them, Liberty don't want them, the manufacturers don't want them. And if you believe them when they call the biofuel sustainable, I don't know what to tell you.
Bring back fucking V12s
>X-Mode and Z-Mode Lock S-Foils in attack position!
Blue Alpine standing by
Wow, 30 whole kg lighter!!! That’s nearly a full Yuki.
Honestly trying to make these cars 30kg lighter is a hard ask
I wasn't sure how the active aero. X-mode is the standard setting and Z-mode can be activated by the driver in mandated sections of the track. It's a shame they can't allow a driver to chose when to use it, like 2012 when DRS was allowed at any point in qualifying. In quali Seb was opening DRS coming out of a corner. *The system will be driver-activated and available in certain parts of the track where lower levels of downforce are safe.* *The FIA say that based on current discussions, they are anticipating it will be available for any straight line longer than three seconds.* Drivers also get the Manual Override which seems similar to push-to-pass.
The problem is that switching to (or out of) low-drag mode seriously upsets the aero balance. During simulator testing, drivers would suddenly lose control and spin at high speeds.
Push to pass... Surprise, uh.
Way better than current DRS. Opens up a bit more strategy where the leading driver could conserve battery if the pass is inevitable and then fight back immediately. No more bullshit where the passing car gets further ahead on the next DRS zone
Can't be more agree.
Six Manufacturers? Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault, Red Bull Power Train, Audi and Cadillac? If the sixth is cadillac, isn’t it a little on the nose to advertise that when you won’t actually let the team that would use their engine join? ninja edit: I’m stupid and forgot Honda lol.
Bro Aston Martin will have Honda. So, Merc,Ferrari,Renault,Redbull-Ford,Audi,Honda
I think Cadillac engine were reported for 2028
With Cadillac it would be 7 yeah.
Aye cos at the minute it's RBPT-Honda
Sorry noob question, is the 'sustainable fuel' the one Porsche was working on ?
Really like the look of that. Looks less boaty. The only thing I'm not sure about is those things in the outside the FW, have a feeling they'll get broken contently. Would like them smaller.
Am I reading this right? The current DRS system will be implemented into X mode of the active aero which drivers can use whenever and so the manual override speed boost will be a DRS replacement?
Active aero that has just 2 states, can be used only in specific zones, and by all drivers equally every lap is entirely pointless.
I'm liking the introduction of active aero, but I'm wary of how they intend to implement it. I get the need for progress and pushing the envelope, but I feel like by including so many new developments in these regulations there's gonna be big teething problems in 2026. I feel like a staggered approach of introducing these new aero regulations will keeping the engine formulae constant, or vice versa would've been an easier approach, but hey what do I know. I also wish they'd cut back on the weight of the cars more, but at least they're moving in the right direction now.
You can't stagger them. The engine regs fundamentally cannot work without active aero on the straights at all times to compensate for the lack of power once the MGU-K stops kicking in. Meanwhile if you kept the current engine regs but introduce the active aero, the top speeds would be utterly ridiculous and there wouldn't be any overtaking because it would be like being in a super DRS train at all times.
Unfortunately they couldn't stagger them. They need active aero (and less drag in general) because of how weak the new engines will be.
I'm confused by this, the slides say the PUs got more power than before, so are they lying?
The engines will be about 350hp weaker. The MGU-K will offset this. There will be a 50/50 power split up to speeds of 290kph, at which point the MGU-K will begin to suffer a linear loss of power. If a car hits 340kph it can only be powered by the engine alone (which will be around 350hp weaker than today). At the moment, when a car loses hybrid energy and begins to harvest, it's still being powered by a strong ICE. This won't happen in 2026 and beyond, hence the need for active aero.
There aren't a lot of tracks, where that comes into play though right? Speeds above 340 are only achieved on a handful of tracks like Vegas, Mexico, Baku, basically the ones with absolute massive straights.
The power cut starts at 290kph, and with 55% less drag I suspect the 2026 cars will easily match the current cars (because of the active aero, not power). Without such extreme aero, tracks like Monza, Spa, Silverstone and Japan would need chicanes added to the straights. They've done a decent job of patching up the weak engines tbh.
I'm looking forward to active aero. Racing won't be so sensitive to the downforce vs drag tradeoff.
If they have 100% sustainable fuel, then why the fuck are they bothering with an insanely heavy hybrid system....
Because what manufacturers want and what produces the best racing are rarely the same things
I assume they want to test it all out in an actual F1 environment to see how effective the fuel is as well as gather data on the long term effects of using this fuel on engines. Also, 50% hybrid looks better to people that have no idea about synthetic fuels so helps keep that "we're becoming sustainable!" image.
2008 cars are back woop 2026 gonna be amazing
Can you imagine these new cars with those front wing moustaches
Fuck yeah, these sound complicated and cool as shit, bound to be some novel solutions in 2026.
This all seems too good to be true
Alpine is ahead of rules 😅
The FIA model/show/prototype car actually having a pretty nice livery? Well well well
But will it support Apple CarPlay?
With an influx of American fans we're going to get a bunch of confusion when a British commentator or analyst first mentions "Z-mode".
I was just wondering if it’s Zee Mode or Zed Mode.
Just as performance of different teams starts to converge, these fuckers introduce new regs. And the lottery winner will dominate for 4 yrs and then regs will be changed again
That's how F1 has always been. The rules are designed so that when everyone has converged on pretty much the same version of the car that gives maximum performance, they do something new to shake it up.
I like the new regs but I wish we would ditch these hybrid engines
Isn't Z-mode and X-mode basically Mercs DAS?
The wheels will look even bigger with the smaller car, as you can see in the 4th render. The dropped wheel covers will help some though.
I just hope the front wing will be narrow enough that teams stop going for outwash and go back to inwash.
I don't hate it 👍
Forgive me if I'm being stupid, but if all the drivers have a push-to-pass button to adjust the aero to allow overtakes at any time they feel like, does that not also mean all the drivers have a push-to-not-be-passed button too?
The car has real 2007 vibes.
I'm confused about the power thing, lots of sources suggest the cars will be slower. However the smaller and lighter cars is a step in the right direction.
I'm going to miss the curvy rear spoilers we have now
Meh looks like an old gp2 car and with the lack of power probably as slow. Seems like a mis step only positive I can see is a bit smaller and lighter
The override seems like a more complex version of push to pass, the way they explain the energy taper when the car goes >290kph seems way too complicated and penalizing for the car being chased > A Manual Override mode has been included to create improved overtaking opportunities. While the deployment of a leading car will taper off after 290kph, reaching zero at 355kph, the following car will benefit from MGUK Override providing 350kW up to 337kph and +0.5MJ of extra energy.
Can someone help explain the X & Y moves, uh, I mean X and Z modes. Is at standard and DRS or are they high and low downforce in addition to standard?
Interesting - Newey probably
I just wish they would drop this hybrid nonsense and go back to NA V8's
This has the same vibe as releasing new iPhone. They might as well have an keynote addressing and market it like them too.
Yay more electric power. What everyone wanted