🔗 Share this article

Formula 1 has unveiled the official terminology that will be used to describe the advanced features of its upcoming 2026 rulebook.

The championship is introducing what is arguably the largest rules overhaul in its competitive history next season, featuring fresh chassis and power unit regulations and the required adoption of fully sustainable fuels.

The updated 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrids, which keep the hybrid V6 layout, boast a substantially higher battery power, driving significant developments in the vehicles' aerodynamic design.

Over a race distance, pilots will carefully oversee battery power – potentially on qualifying laps – to secure the optimal performance.

Extensive fan consultation were carried out with a wide range of fans, including new, casual and core fans, to determine which terminology would aid comprehension of the central aspects of the upcoming rules.

The key objective was to render a set of intricate features of the racing as straightforward as possible for the broadest viewership.

Consequently, older technical labels for some systems – such as "x-mode and z-mode" for the active aerodynamics – have been phased out in favor of straightforward terms that clearly indicate the real-world effect of the innovation.

Exploring the New Tech

Regulators explain that drivers will have more power to choose strategies regarding power usage, energy recovery, and saving energy.

The upcoming changes 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 existing Drag Reduction System. It provides a burst of extra electrical energy deployable when a car is close behind the vehicle in front to assist with an overtake.
• Boost Mode: This is a on-demand power boost from the ERS that can be deployed for overtaking or defending. It grants the driver maximum power at the activation of a control.

Both of these strategic tools will have to be deployed strategically, as the overall battery capacity is capped.

• Active Aero: Both the front and rear wings change configuration – opening on the straights for minimal air resistance and increased velocity, and closing in the bends for peak grip.
• Energy Harvesting: The system can replenish their battery with energy harvested under braking, or during partial power application at the straight's end or in sections where only limited engine output is used.

What's Changing on the Cars?

The next-generation machines will be smaller and lighter relative to current models, with a distance between axles shortened by 200mm to 3,400mm, width narrowed by 100mm – down to 1,900mm – and the car weight lowered by 30kg.

Overall downforce is anticipated to be reduced by approximately fifteen to thirty percent, although squads will inevitably claw this back as they develop their cars.

Aerodynamic drag has been reduced by 40%. The cars will employ moveable wing elements – front and rear wings will adjust on the straight sections to cut resistance and boost top speed and return into place for peak handling.

Tyres will continue to use the current rim size, but the tyres themselves will be slimmer, by 25 millimetres on the front axle and 30mm at the rear.

2026 Engine Regulations

The new power units will have an approximate 50-50 split in horsepower generated by the internal combustion engine and the ERS, a rise from about 20% electrical in the current formula.

The energy recovery system is made less complex through the removal of the MGU-H, the sophisticated and pricey component that harvested power from the turbo.

Cars will be mandated to operate on carbon-neutral fuel, manufactured from plant-based materials or synthetic industrial processes.