The Concern of Slower Cars in 2026
The world's fastest cars in motorsport are getting slower? That's the concern among many Formula 1 teams as an all-new rule set goes into effect for 2026. But will Formula 1 cars actually be slower? This is a really complicated question that requires advanced simulations and realistic models to properly understand. Let's try to solve it with some basic comparisons.
Comparing Generations: Old vs. New
We'll start by comparing the respective generations and looking at what advantages each has. There are very real advantages to both the new car as well as the old car. The new car is going to be a little bit smaller and as a result, it actually has a lower minimum weight, saving about thirty kilograms. This weight saving is significant as every ten kilograms is worth about three-tenths of a second around the lap.
With the new car, they are targeting about thirty kilograms less fuel as well, which means at the beginning of the race, they could be down about sixty kilograms. This translates to about a two-second per lap advantage simply by removing sixty kilograms of mass from the vehicle. The new car is also going to have way less drag, reduced by fifty-five percent, which should mean it is significantly quicker in a straight line.
Power Dynamics: Combustion vs. Electric
The FIA states that the new car will have significantly more power. Realistically, both the new and old cars have about a thousand horsepower. The old car has about five hundred sixty kilowatts from the combustion engine and a hundred twenty kilowatts from the electric motor. In contrast, the new car has four hundred kilowatts from the combustion engine and three hundred fifty kilowatts from the electric motor, triple the electric power of the old car. This gives the new car a total of seven fifty versus six eighty in power.
However, the 2024 car or the current old generation has more energy on board. More energy at the start of the race means more power can be used throughout it. The old car starts with a hundred kilograms of e10 fuel, while the new car targets about seventy kilograms of a sustainable fuel, which is slightly less energy-dense. This results in the old cars having significantly more downforce, making them quicker around corners.
Energy Management: A Key Factor
To move an object from one location to another requires a certain amount of energy. To move that same object very quickly requires more energy. The more energy you have, the more power you can use throughout the race. More energy means more power over the duration of the race. The new cars can take the energy from slowing down and put it into the battery pack.
Starting with the 2026 vehicle, they will have about seventy to eighty kilograms of fuel with an energy density of about thirty-eight to forty-one megajoules per kilogram. This gives us two thousand eight hundred seventy megajoules of starting energy. The 2024 cars have a hundred to a hundred and ten kilograms of fuel with an energy density slightly higher at forty-two point two five megajoules, giving them four thousand two hundred twenty-five megajoules to start the race with, a significant fifty percent more.
Electric Side of Things
Throughout a lap, the new rules allow for eight point five megajoules of energy recovery and deployment, compared to four megajoules per lap for the old rules. To put it into simpler terms, four megajoules is about one kilowatt hour, and eight point five megajoules is about two kilowatt hours. At a representative track like Spain, with sixty-six laps, the new car could recover and deploy five sixty-one megajoules versus two sixty-four for the old car.
Assuming fifty percent combustion efficiency and one hundred percent battery efficiency, the new car has a total of nineteen ninety-six megajoules for the entire race versus two thousand three hundred seventy-seven for the old car. The old car has about twenty percent more useful energy throughout the race. While the new car may have a higher peak power, it has less total energy to use, leading to a lower average power throughout the race.
The Impact of Reduced Downforce
One of the major changes is the reduction in downforce by thirty percent. This means the new cars will have way less pressure pushing down on their tires, resulting in less grip around corners. For example, in a one-kilometer circle, the old car could travel at a maximum speed of about three fifty kilometers per hour, taking ten point three seconds. The new car, with reduced downforce, would travel at about three hundred ten kilometers per hour, taking eleven point six seconds.
On a median F1 track of about five point five kilometers per lap, this difference translates to about a seven-second per lap disadvantage for the new car. Downforce is critical, and the reduction will make lap times slower if it were the only variable that changed.
Critical Rules and Their Consequences
One of the key rules states that the maximum state of charge delta for the battery cannot exceed four megajoules. This means you can never continuously power yourself or recover more energy than about one kilowatt hour. Although the new cars have three times the power, the energy delta within the battery remains the same.
For instance, on one of the longest straights in the Formula 1 calendar, if we apply three hundred fifty kilowatts for twenty seconds, we would need seven megajoules of energy. However, we can only use four at a time, limiting the energy available for acceleration. Additionally, during braking, the maximum regenerate for the batteries is three hundred fifty kilowatts. So, in a short braking period, we can only recover one point four megajoules out of a possible three point one megajoules.
Strategies for Energy Recovery
Teams might adopt strategies to maximize energy recovery. For example, they could use maximum power for brief bursts when exiting corners to get up to speed quickly. They might also slow down gradually on long straights to recover more energy efficiently. These strategies could open up new passing opportunities and different race dynamics.
While the initial outlook suggests that the new cars might be slower, rules can change, and engineers can innovate. The changes could lead to exciting new strategies and race dynamics. Only time will tell how these factors will play out on the track.
So what is the conclusion?
The new 2026 Formula 1 rules bring significant changes that could impact car performance. The reduction in weight, changes in energy dynamics, and alterations in aerodynamics and downforce all play a role. While the new cars might initially seem slower, the evolving strategies and potential rule adjustments could lead to exciting developments. Stay tuned to see how these changes unfold on the track.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Thanks for reading!