Is the 2026 Regulation going to achieve it goal?

[Nitrodaze]

In a few days, 2026 cars are going to start official shakedown runs and public reveal. Some of us have pored through the regulations governing the design of the car over Christmas. And there may be some concerns, as well as also seen potentially exciting things. The most exciting things I noticed are summarised here:-

1. The transition from outwash designs of the previous cars to an inwash philosophy means less instability for chasing cars behind

2. The underfloor design and the air channels at the rear of the floor mean the air flow out of the rear of the car is lifted higher than in previous regulation cars via a much narrower flow band. Which means that the following cars can be closer and tucked under the wake of the car in front without disruption to the flow dynamics of their front wing. Hurray! Closer racing seems very possible for a change.

3. The car is more driver-oriented than car-oriented. What I mean here is that the driver makes more of a difference to success than car speed and aerodynamics for a change.

4. This is because the most successful drivers are going to be the smartest and most talented drivers who can most intelligently deploy the battery usage to achieve the fastest lap relative to the competition. This could mean that midfield teams may shine more often this season by winning the odd races.

5. Aerodynamic stability seems to be a big target in this regulation. Balancing the downforce from the rearwings to the front wings is one of the new concepts on the car. This is achieved by both the movable front and rear wings. Downforce is removed from the front wing by deflecting the front movable elements if the downforce at the rear has dropped. Front overloading while cornering which were a typical problem with the 2025 cars for instance is greatly reduced by this gizmo. But this potentially have the side effect of lesser grip due to reduced downforce. We may see cars sliding at or through the corners this season. I think the drivers would need to learn afresh how to get fast round corners with less downforce without sliding. Sliding eats up lap times

6. Boost button, the new DRS of sorts. Cars attacking would now have the advantage of being able to use the power boost to overtake the car in front. Boost, of course, means deploying both the ICE and Electric power combined to achieve maximum horsepower. Unlike the old DRS boost, there is a price to pay for using the boost button. One could run out of battery charge and become vulnerable to the cars behind.

7. The speed on the straights may be faster than we have seen in recent times.

While there are lots of other interesting things to talk about, this new regulation is, by far, the most promising regulation for some time. It addresses the carbon footprint of F1 and the environmental negatives typically associated with motor racing, with the new bio-fuels powering the cars this season. My main concerns are the following:-

1. It is still a fat boy; the 2026 cars, at some 770kg, are still very heavy.
2. While it is narrower, it is still too long relative to the pre-hybrid regulation cars.
3. The consequential narrower tyres mean less of the engine power can be deployed to traction. Traction control would work harder this season to avoid wheelspin from a standstill.
4. Any damage to the aero-fixtures would have a dramatic (probably steeper) drop in performance

I am sure you have noticed a few things as well. Please share your thoughts.

[Used to be Starter]

In a few days, 2026 cars are going to start official shakedown runs and public reveal. Some of us have pored through the regulations governing the design of the car over Christmas. And there may be some concerns, as well as also seen potentially exciting things. The most exciting things I noticed are summarised here:-

7. The speed on the straights may be faster than we have seen in recent times.

This. The result will be longer braking areas, that means the drivers will have more opportunity to contest overtaking into corners and should result in more wheel to wheel driving. (Which may also result in more contact.)

[Nitrodaze]

This. The result will be longer braking areas, that means the drivers will have more opportunity to contest overtaking into corners and should result in more wheel to wheel driving. (Which may also result in more contact.)

Yeah, faster with smaller tyres, means braking would be tricky on approach to corners. Wet races may be just as interesting this season.

[airshifter]

Keep in mind that electrical energy deployment will start tapering off at about 180 mph, and be down to zero at 220 or so IIRC. And that is only IF a driver has enough energy to keep deployment up. Even with the last regs we had cars clipping at the end of the longer straights at times.

I don't really expect the top speeds to change much. They will get there quicker possibly, but now with a longer time to expend energy they might have to do some lift and coast to keep energy stores up.


But IRT 1 and 2, hopefully both are evident at the start of the reg, but I think similar to the last reg that ability to follow closely and having less dirty air will be developed away slowly as they learn the cars.

As for 3 and 4, I think it will reward drivers who are savvy in the use of energy deployment, but the overall car will still be a huge factor and likely dictate the orders of the race most of the time. Without a solid handling and predictable car underneath them, crafty use of energy deployment won't save the driver from faster machinery.


For 5, it's essentially still just a double ended DRS for designated areas. Similar to DRS and aero surfaces that don't move, teams and drivers will have to find the setup and overall balance that works best for them. I see this as an area where certain teams might find critical designs that make the car more aero efficient in one vs the other mode, and somewhat expect some strange wing shapes, along with some crazy actuator designs and locations on the wing areas.

Depending on car design, I also wouldn't be shocked to find even some of the best drivers in the best cars taking some time as the season progresses to find out how to set up for their preferences on different tracks. As in the past they have to exploit the car the best they can while also figuring out where driver differences might help them overcome a weakness in the setup balance.



As for "Net Zero" goals... I think they already failed. Using synthetic fuels that require great energy to produce while loudly proclaiming "no emissions!" is to not look at the big picture. I would think on the overall scope of F1 it's a mere drop in a bucket. Better than nothing, but not really setting a great example above anything else.

[Nitrodaze]

Keep in mind that electrical energy deployment will start tapering off at about 180 mph, and be down to zero at 220 or so IIRC. And that is only IF a driver has enough energy to keep deployment up. Even with the last regs we had cars clipping at the end of the longer straights at times.

I don't really expect the top speeds to change much. They will get there quicker possibly, but now with a longer time to expend energy they might have to do some lift and coast to keep energy stores up.


But IRT 1 and 2, hopefully both are evident at the start of the reg, but I think similar to the last reg that ability to follow closely and having less dirty air will be developed away slowly as they learn the cars.

As for 3 and 4, I think it will reward drivers who are savvy in the use of energy deployment, but the overall car will still be a huge factor and likely dictate the orders of the race most of the time. Without a solid handling and predictable car underneath them, crafty use of energy deployment won't save the driver from faster machinery.


For 5, it's essentially still just a double ended DRS for designated areas. Similar to DRS and aero surfaces that don't move, teams and drivers will have to find the setup and overall balance that works best for them. I see this as an area where certain teams might find critical designs that make the car more aero efficient in one vs the other mode, and somewhat expect some strange wing shapes, along with some crazy actuator designs and locations on the wing areas.

Depending on car design, I also wouldn't be shocked to find even some of the best drivers in the best cars taking some time as the season progresses to find out how to set up for their preferences on different tracks. As in the past they have to exploit the car the best they can while also figuring out where driver differences might help them overcome a weakness in the setup balance.



As for "Net Zero" goals... I think they already failed. Using synthetic fuels that require great energy to produce while loudly proclaiming "no emissions!" is to not look at the big picture. I would think on the overall scope of F1 it's a mere drop in a bucket. Better than nothing, but not really setting a great example above anything else.

I commend you for a truly great write-up. The regulation boxes on the chassis is very stringent at achieving in-wash; it would be interesting to see how the engineers find their way around it. The regulation would effectively fail the moment teams find ways to out-wash within the regulation.

I fully expect the teams to really play with the moving rear and front wings. At the moment, it is expected to flap fully open and flap fully closed. I am sure someone is thinking about graduated closing of the flap. Partially closed rear with fully open front wing and vice versa. Or even dynamic alteration of position according to wing profile. The possibilities are plentiful. Hence, this regulation era may be full of surprises l expect.

We would expect a few crashes as drivers go through the process of understanding the cars. There is a good chance that the reliability of the new power unit may drop lower than recent few seasons, especially over the first half of the season.

Any evidence of lift and coast would not be good for the regulation either. Besides, lifting and coasting in the midfield is bad news for any driver doing it. They would be vulnerable to the BOOST button. They would be boosted backwards.

On BIO FUELS, F1 is abit late to the game. Indycar, even F2 has been using biofuels for some time now. This will introduce a new kind od of competition into the mix. Which of the Fuel Suppliers would produce the best biofuel this season? A team may have a great engine and a powerful MGU-K, but without fuel with the best level of octane characteristics, they fall short of the competition.

Perfecting needs to come from all aspects of the car: Aerodynamics, ICE, fuel and Electrical systems.