🔗 Share this article

Formula 1 has unveiled the simplified vocabulary that will be used to explain the intricate details of its upcoming 2026 rulebook.

The sport is implementing what is arguably the biggest technical shift in its illustrious history next season, featuring new chassis and engine rules and the mandatory use of fully sustainable fuels.

The updated 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrids, which keep the hybrid V6 layout, boast a significantly increased energy storage, requiring major innovations in the cars' aerodynamics.

Over a race distance, drivers will tactically deploy battery power – sometimes even qualifying laps – to achieve the optimal lap time.

Wide-ranging research were undertaken with a wide range of fans, including dedicated enthusiasts and casual observers, to identify which terminology would improve understanding of the key features of the new regulations.

The primary aim was to present a set of intricate new areas of the competition as easy to grasp as possible for the global fanbase.

Consequently, previous placeholder terms for specific components – such as "alphabetical mode names" for the active aerodynamics – have been abandoned in favor of intuitive labels that succinctly convey the primary purpose of the system.

What's the New Technology?

Regulators explain that drivers will have increased agency to make decisions regarding power usage, energy recovery, and conservation.

The new regulations mandate a set of functions that will be visually displayed on broadcast screens to aid the viewers' comprehension of the strategic duel.

• Attack Mode: This supersedes the current DRS. It provides a surge of additional ERS power deployable when a competitor is close behind the vehicle in front to execute an overtaking maneuver.
• Power Mode: This is a manual power boost from the energy recovery system that can be utilized during offensive or defensive moves. It provides the driver full engine and battery energy at the click of a switch.

Both of these key functions will have to be managed carefully, as the overall battery capacity is strictly limited.

• Adjustable Aero: Both the car's wings move automatically – opening on the high-speed sections for minimal air resistance and higher speed, and angling down in the turns for peak grip.
• Energy Harvesting: Drivers can harvest energy with power recovered from braking, or during partial power application at the straight's end or in corners where only limited engine output is applied.

What's Changing on the Cars?

The next-generation machines will be reduced in size and weight relative to current models, with a distance between axles cut by 200mm to 3,400mm, width reduced by 100mm – down to 1,900mm – and the minimum weight decreased by 30kg.

Overall downforce is anticipated to be reduced by approximately fifteen to thirty percent, although teams will naturally regain performance as they optimize their packages.

Aerodynamic drag has been reduced by 40%. The vehicles will utilize active aerodynamics – both wings will open on the straight sections to cut resistance and boost top speed and return into place for peak handling.

Pirelli tyres will keep 18-inch wheel rims, but the tyres themselves will be narrower, by a quarter-centimetre on the front and 30mm at the rear.

2026 Engine Regulations

The revised hybrid units will have an roughly half-and-half distribution in power produced by the internal combustion engine and the ERS, increasing from about 20% electrical this year.

The energy recovery system is streamlined through the elimination of the complex turbo energy recovery device, the complicated and costly component that recovered energy from the exhaust turbo.

Every car on the grid will be required to run on carbon-neutral fuel, created from organic sources or synthetic production methods.