Is the 2026 Regulation going to achieve it goal?

[Nitrodaze]

I think the new regs have not slowed the new cars enough.
Whn a new cartype is coming in, they need to cut at least 5 sec a lap on average on all tracks.

The very capable engineers will cut the aprox 2-3 sec a lap we see now will almost be gained in 2026.

The easiest way to easy cut more is to make tyres harder. Not sure how many shore this years C1 and C5 tyre are. But he easiest is to tell Pirelli to make all tyres 3 seconds slower.
Little cost for the teams, and will give the the needed effect.

In addition will harder tyres will give a bonuseffest by showing who are the best drivers, since cars will become harder to drive!

At preseason testing, the best time was 3 seconds from the 2025 quali time. That was surprising, knowing the top teams were sandbagging. In the last three races, some people have found evidence that Mercedes is sandbagging. Hence, they may be capable of 2025 times already.

Is hard tyres the best way to slow them down? I don't think so. Even with hard tyres, Mercedes would still be within 3 seconds of 2025 times. And it is possible now for the FIA to implement, as Pirrelli tested harder tyres for 2026 but chose not to use them for the races we have seen so far. Introducing harder tyres than was agreed with the teams at this point would not go down well with the teams. It will only increase criticism of the regulations, which are taking a battering at the moment.

The funny thing is that the cars are not actually that fast. It is the battery deployment that gives the impression that they fast relative to other cars without battery. Compared to the 2025 cars, the 2026 car drive power fluctuates from 500HP to close to 1000HP. On average, they probably top out at around 800HP on the straight due to battery levels and tyre wear. In reality, they are slower than the 1000HP 2025 car on the straight but faster at the corners.

[airshifter]

The funny thing is that the cars are not actually that fast. It is the battery deployment that gives the impression that they fast relative to other cars without battery. Compared to the 2025 cars, the 2026 car drive power fluctuates from 500HP to close to 1000HP. On average, they probably top out at around 800HP on the straight due to battery levels and tyre wear. In reality, they are slower than the 1000HP 2025 car on the straight but faster at the corners.

This is a gross twisting of reality. On very long straights, the cars from last year might go slightly faster, but the acceleration curve of the new cars and initial speed advantage gets them down the straight in less time.

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/co...aces/#lightbox

You can clearly see where the new vs last era cars have advantages. The new cars accelerate hard, but might lose out at the end of the straight. There is not a single corner trace that shows the new car quicker in a corner. The same was true in China and Albert Park. On the tracks that don't allow much harvesting, the older car might make it down a straight slightly quicker, but those tracks are fairly rare.


The downforce reduction alone will make these cars slower in corners until they manage to claw it back. But the aero drag reduction makes them accelerate much quicker than before.


Another trace on China qually laps. Notice where each car has an advantage. In particular notice the final straight starting at about the one minute and five seconds mark. Kimi and Oscar are at the same speed, and you can advance and see how quickly Kimi accelerates vs Oscar until it reaches about a 15 kph advantage. At the end of the straight Kimi is out of energy and Oscar takes a lead of a similar advantage, but it's much more brief. Overall Kimi makes up time on the straight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN2gnrHaLSs


Australia should be one of the worst tracks for harvesting, and quite a few are significantly better. China should be at or near the top 3-4 as well. So the season opening races already gave a fairly solid look at worst and best case scenarios for harvesting and energy deployment.