We need to talk about the F1 2026 regulationsFormula 1

[LeMansLambo14]

A lot of you will already know this, but I'm going to say it plain and clear: F1 2026 is rubbish.

This may be biased, but as a simracer whose been watching the 2026 season and every video made about it on Youtube, most of you will agree that there are many serious flaws with how the powertrain works. The cars are energy-starved in an effort to make racing exciting and unpredictable, but ultimately it's led to "fake" overtakes and dissatisfied drivers. The 50-50 split between ICE an EV has caused reliability issues and other hurdles. The F1 2026 season has seen multiple rule "tweaks" that have still not fixed the underlying issue with the system. Lighter cars and better aero have not done enough to fix it, either. This seems to be a very divisive topic in the media at the moment, but I would like to here your thoughts on this and what potentially needs to be fixed.

Rumors are they'll switch to V8s in 2030...

Edit: no arguments please

 

[Fezzik]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-drivers-raise-concerns-over-self-learning-power-units/10840887/

The only power deployment strategy should be how much the driver uses their right foot.

 

[MisterWaffles]

I haven’t watched a single full race this year yet, just highlights here and there when I hear a team I like did well or had an incident lol. But yeah the 2026+ F1 regulations have been absolutely terrible so far, which is a shame because I really loved the last set of regulations, those cars honestly looked beautiful.

Now the cars might be smaller, but they have very awkward half-way proportions between older regulations and the last set. And the powertrain is just hopeless. I was watching Antonelli’s onboard hot lap of Spa and the engine sounds like it’s dying half the time. Not to mention the places where they downshift now just feel incredibly unnatural.

Also having drivers need to slow down to harvest energy because they keep running out, only for the person behind them to blow past with a huge speed difference is so pathetic to watch. There’s hardly any good moves anymore, just the person behind getting a huge advantage even worse than the DRS days. At least with DRS it was predictable and there was still and opportunity to defend instead of having to commit to harvesting.

2026 has been truly dreadful for the racing, which is a shame because I was very excited to see Cadillac and Audi on the grid.

 

[LeMansLambo14]

I haven’t watched a single full race this year yet, just highlights here and there when I hear a team I like did well or had an incident lol. But yeah the 2026+ F1 regulations have been absolutely terrible so far, which is a shame because I really loved the last set of regulations, those cars honestly looked beautiful.

Now the cars might be smaller, but they have very awkward half-way proportions between older regulations and the last set. And the powertrain is just hopeless. I was watching Antonelli’s onboard hot lap of Spa and the engine sounds like it’s dying half the time. Not to mention the places where they downshift now just feel incredibly unnatural.

Also having drivers need to slow down to harvest energy because they keep running out, only for the person behind them to blow past with a huge speed difference is so pathetic to watch. There’s hardly any good moves anymore, just the person behind getting a huge advantage even worse than the DRS days. At least with DRS it was predictable and there was still and opportunity to defend instead of having to commit to harvesting.

2026 has been truly dreadful for the racing, which is a shame because I was very excited to see Cadillac and Audi on the grid.

I like the car design from the exterior, and the aero and the smaller size is great too, but ultimately they're just band-aids for the rubbish powertrain, which the FIA knew would be unpredictable in the first place

 

[TheCracker]

As a long time follower of the sport, the action this season has been the best it's been in a long long time.

As an enthusiast who likes my sport to be as 'pure' as possible i dislike all the fake/contrived ways they've tried to make the racing better - but then we've had DRS for 15 years now plus hybrid power and a forced two-compound tyre rule for a good while too.

It doesn't matter if the drivers dislike it or hardcore fans moan about it, if the action is good and interest in the sport keeps increasing, that's all that really matters.

 

[MagpieRacer]

As a long time follower of the sport, the action this season has been the best it's been in a long long time.

As an enthusiast who likes my sport to be as 'pure' as possible i dislike all the fake/contrived ways they've tried to make the racing better - but then we've had DRS for 15 years now plus hybrid power and a forced two-compound tyre rule for a good while too.

It doesn't matter if the drivers dislike it or hardcore fans moan about it, if the action is good and interest in the sport keeps increasing, that's all that really matters.

This aligns with my view, there's been an element of forced overtaking in F1 for the thick end of 17 years now and efforts to force racing to be closer/better/less predictable have been pursued for many more decades, from no tyre changes to refuelling/no refuelling, narrow tyres, wide tyres, massive aero overhauls and more.

Nowadays, it's very difficult to find a form of racing that is pure, every series has some form of boost, or success penalties or something to force closer racing.

As you say, the racing this season has been as good as it's been for a very long time, if viewers didn't know about the super clipping and had data rammed down our throats about SoC or whatever, it arguably wouldn't be as big an issue for people as the racing has been entertaining.

If the tweaks to the regs over the next season or 2 can reduce the negative elements of the power unit then that's great. But the one thing that 2026 has nailed in my opinion is everything else, the cars, the aero packages etc, it has done what it was intended to do and made it easier for cars to follow and to race. Ultimately that's what we're watching it for right?

 

[ZAPPADIETRO]

Nowadays, it's very difficult to find a form of racing that is pure

MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and the likes.

 

[TheCracker]

MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and the likes.

Very true and the racing is usually great.

The difference is aerodynamics - or more accurately, the 'dirty' air that comes off the back of a vehicle fitted with wings and other aero features. It makes such a massive negative difference to the vehicle that follows it through a turn and Formula cars in particular are very sensitive to turbulent air.

Bikes just don't create the same degree of turbulence and they don't require stable air for their corner grip levels. Hence why the racing is always closer.

I have noticed that MotoGP bikes are sadly getting much more adorned with winglets. I just hope they don't make it harder for following bikes to follow.

 

[ZAPPADIETRO]

I have noticed that MotoGP bikes are sadly getting much more adorned with winglets. I just hope they don't make it harder for following bikes to follow.

There's new aero restrictions in 2027 aiming at solving this dirty air issue, hopefully they'll work.

 

[Moglet]

I think the regulations still need some work but there's no denying that they have lead to some fun battles, even if they have been artificially forced by slowing cars down so they can regenerate battery power. The broadcast cutting away before clipping occurs, and the removal of speed displays in some views, is very jarring though.

My main concern is that we're entering another era of Mercedes dominance and it's going to make the battle for the driver's championship quite boring again. I'm really happy that Kimi is doing so well but it's already becoming quite predictable. I hope Ferrari, and Lewis in particular, can make up even more ground soon to keep things interesting.

 

[Veinz]

It’s fake ass racing but what really bugs me how they try to cover it up by conveniently changing the camera angle or the on screen graphics.

Domenicali and co wanted these crappy regs despite the warnings from the drivers and teams years ago, they should own their failure.

 

[LeMansLambo14]

It doesn't matter if the drivers dislike it or hardcore fans moan about it, if the action is good and interest in the sport keeps increasing, that's all that really matters.

What are you talking about? If the drivers and "hardcore fans" (AKA those who actually care) are put down for the sake of the kids on Youtube watching who have the attention span of a minnow, than something has clearly gone wrong with F1's priorities

 

[McLaren]

What are you talking about? If the drivers and "hardcore fans" (AKA those who actually care) are put down for the sake of the kids on Youtube watching who have the attention span of a minnow, than something has clearly gone wrong with F1's priorities

Well done broadly labeling the new fans as nothing more than dumb kids when they're not. A few of my buddies have gotten into F1 in the last year & enjoy it, whilst still being aware of the current issues.

What he's talking about though, is pure & simply profit. More eyes are on the sport, more money is being spent, they're going to keep going in a direction that continues that. He's also completely right in the part of his post you omitted. As much as folks have issues these new regs, the last few seasons have not been any more exciting. Passing was essentially limited to just DRS zones & were arguably "artificial" since it was push a button, aero opens, zooms by, job done because the cars could not stay near each other to fight back. We had multiple races turn into the same parade processions or "DRS trains" where no one could pass. It did turn into some interesting tactics like Singapore with Sainz, but that was rare, unfortunately.

To their credit, they also are listening with the reports of them changing the 50/50 split & all but confirmation of V8s coming in a couple years. If they can find a way to keep aero development from advancing to the point where cars can't follow closely, the racing can only go up from here.

 

[LeMansLambo14]

Well done broadly labeling the new fans as nothing more than dumb kids when they're not. A few of my buddies have gotten into F1 in the last year & enjoy it, whilst still being aware of the current issues.

What he's talking about though, is pure & simply profit. More eyes are on the sport, more money is being spent, they're going to keep going in a direction that continues that. He's also completely right in the part of his post you omitted. As much as folks have issues these new regs, the last few seasons have not been any more exciting. Passing was essentially limited to just DRS zones & were arguably "artificial" since it was push a button, aero opens, zooms by, job done because the cars could not stay near each other to fight back. We had multiple races turn into the same parade processions or "DRS trains" where no one could pass. It did turn into some interesting tactics like Singapore with Sainz, but that was rare, unfortunately.

To their credit, they also are listening with the reports of them changing the 50/50 split & all but confirmation of V8s coming in a couple years. If they can find a way to keep aero development from advancing to the point where cars can't follow closely, the racing can only go up from here.

Sorry I wasn't putting down the young fans out there (I never said they were dumb I said they would only notice if it was more interesting or not); I was just trying make a point that should have been more aimed at the business side of things, like you said. Allow me to re-word my point: They have tried making racing exciting for those who aren't as interested but have actually ruined the racing part for us. Forgive me for my brashness but the whole "Let's go EV because everyone will love it" and "It'll make the sport more exciting" thing has really gotten up my nose the past few months, because as an automotive engineer and a simracer, I can see too many problems with the FIA's logic

 

[TheCracker]

Sorry I wasn't putting down the young fans out there (I never said they were dumb I said they would only notice if it was more interesting or not); I was just trying make a point that should have been more aimed at the business side of things, like you said. Allow me to re-word my point: They have tried making racing exciting for those who aren't as interested but have actually ruined the racing part for us. Forgive me for my brashness but the whole "Let's go EV because everyone will love it" and "It'll make the sport more exciting" thing has really gotten up my nose the past few months, because as an automotive engineer and a simracer, I can see too many problems with the FIA's logic

'Lets go EV/hybrid because EV/hybrid is the direction the manufacturers wanted the sport to go in' - as they'd been pushed towards that direction for their road car divisions because of emissions regulations. The only way participating in F1 made any sense to them was for F1 to have relevant regulations to what they are selling in the showrooms. 'Win on Sunday, sell cars on Monday" only works if there's a synergy between the race track and the showroom other than the badge on the nose. This was a manufacturer-led change in regulations much more than it was the FIA or F1.

What are you talking about? If the drivers and "hardcore fans" (AKA those who actually care) are put down for the sake of the kids on Youtube watching who have the attention span of a minnow, than something has clearly gone wrong with F1's priorities

The drivers will still drive in F1 (what else are they going to do?) and the hardcore fans are still going to be fans and watch.

 

[Pie O My]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fans-dont-get-a-true-picture-of-driver-performance-with-2026-f1-rules-but-its-fixable-says-haas-boss/10841374/

"I wouldn't call it driver error as such," said Komatsu. "Because again, for you to call it a a driver error, you have to expect the driver to understand every single detail of the strategy or software, how it's calculated. You cannot expect that from a driver, right?

"So for me, still, drivers need to be able to drive instinctively to get to the limit of the grip, especially in qualifying. Pick up the throttle as soon as possible where he feels it's not going to break traction, for instance – that's the sport, isn't it?

"Honestly, I can't remember exactly why the staircase [the mandatory ramp-down of electrical input as charge diminishes] happened in qualifying, comparing Esteban [Ocon] and Ollie [Bearman], but the trigger is such a small difference. And the consequence is too big… the fans cannot understand, looking from the laptime difference, has he actually done a bad job?

"Or has he just done something on the deployment that he lost two tenths, three tenths? What is the real gap?

"So we will get there, but at the moment it's just very complicated still."

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One frustration I'm finding in 2026 is it's becoming so murky in answering two (what should be basic) questions....

- Who is the best racing driver in F1?

- Which team has designed the best car in WEC?

 

[LeMansLambo14]

Looks like the FIA have released some information on the 2027/2028 regulations.

Here is my quick overview (please comment if I missed anything):

-Traditional ground effect floors and lowered ride height
-Reduced front and rear wing sizes to reduce drag more
-Increase fuel flow for more power to the ICE

The cars are approximated to lap 4 seconds faster then this years cars thanks to the new aero and with the revised engine split that is meant to fix most of the "clipping" and energy starvation problems that we have now. However, the FIA may have dug themselves into a hole here as the increase fuel flow will force them to mandate shorter races because it will be impossible for the teams to install a bigger fuel tank in the chassis they are using.

Food for thought: If F1 doesn't reduce the price of the tickets because of this than the spectators will probably be like "Stuff you!"

Thoughts, anyone? At least they seem to be doing their best to fix things although this whole thing is kinda there fault in the first place. Considering they have switched to sustainable fuel the whole electric part seems pretty pointless anyway, but on the other hand it looks like the whole idea of the 50/50 powertrains was to draw people to the exciting "racing," anyway.

 

[Pie O My]

I dunno....more people are speaking up about it and it's getting fewer defenders but we could be locked into this for a few seasons. The Race has been running articles for months now, and even Autosport is getting chippier. This latest one is beyond depressing:

How F1 drivers have become hostages to AI in 2026

F1 drivers have become hostages to the AI underpinning the 2026 power units, with results being decided by computers either behaving or misbehaving

www.the-race.com

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One thing I like about this year is how I've seen Max in a new light. Couldn't have imagined that happening in 2021.

 

[LeMansLambo14]

"F1 is, after all, all about the drivers." (From your Race article)

Best single line of the year

To be honest us naysayers saw it coming: Spa was always going to to be the worst Grand Prix in the 2026 season (such a shame as it is usually my personal favorite); so much that even more weaknesses in the car's powertrain systems have been exposed, leaving the media asking more questions on what F1 really is about. Is it the driver or the machine that decides who wins? And who cares how many crowds these "races" draw if the drivers aren't actually racing?! Enough said from me on this.

 

[MagpieRacer]

"F1 is, after all, all about the drivers." (From your Race article)

Best single line of the year

To be honest us naysayers saw it coming: Spa was always going to to be the worst Grand Prix in the 2026 season (such a shame as it is usually my personal favorite); so much that even more weaknesses in the car's powertrain systems have been exposed, leaving the media asking more questions on what F1 really is about. Is it the driver or the machine that decides who wins? And who cares how many crowds these "races" draw if the drivers aren't actually racing?! Enough said from me on this.

Trouble is places like The Race and other naysayers are very quick to bang on about Spa and Melbourne being awful for the PUs, but they won't talk about how many more have produced better overall races.

The media is instrumental in forcing/reinforcing the negative narrative, via click bait articles, constant banging on about 1 or 2 meh races and constantly quizzing the drivers on it.

We know the drivers opinions, if you ask every single driver what they want they would have 2004/5/6 F1 cars and that's that, now go back and watch that era of racing and tell me honestly the racing was better. Ignore the engine spectacle and the noise, tell me honestly that the racing was better.

 

[Sureboss]

Is it a better race when one car runs out of energy? It's like cars having random cylinder deactivation.

 

[Fezzik]

They should just go full electric, like the vastly superior racing series that is Formula E

 

[LeMansLambo14]

Trouble is places like The Race and other naysayers are very quick to bang on about Spa and Melbourne being awful for the PUs, but they won't talk about how many more have produced better overall races.

The media is instrumental in forcing/reinforcing the negative narrative, via click bait articles, constant banging on about 1 or 2 meh races and constantly quizzing the drivers on it.

We know the drivers opinions, if you ask every single driver what they want they would have 2004/5/6 F1 cars and that's that, now go back and watch that era of racing and tell me honestly the racing was better. Ignore the engine spectacle and the noise, tell me honestly that the racing was better.

It's not just the media who are seeing this and picking on this. Usually they would jump on any chance they can get to promote F1 and their increasing number of cross-promotional products. The majority of people can see this is not true racing at all, just more exciting for those who aren't understanding of the driver's point of view. My poll proves this. I can understand how you might enjoy this kind of racing to an extant but there is still a formula for true racing that the FIA hasn't been able to crack with this style of overtaking. And when it comes to to whether the racing in the 00's with the V10s was better, no disrespect but I think you'll find a simracer who longs for the days when you could just put your foot down and listen to an incredible piece of automotive engineering scream to 20,000 rpm while not having to worry about your car running out of battery constantly.

Edit: I personally think The Race is quite unbiased, actually. They just repeat the facts a lot.

Fezzik

They should just go full electric, like the vastly superior racing series that is Formula E

The reason for this is because they have a powertrain that is consistent with the right foot Your making me miss 2025 already

 

[MagpieRacer]

. And when it comes to to whether the racing in the 00's with the V10s was better, no disrespect but I think you'll find a simracer who longs for the days when you could just put your foot down and listen to a incredible piece of automotive engineering scream to 20,000 rpm while not having to worry about your car running out of battery constantly.

I'm not interested in if a sim racer longs for the days of something they've never actually experienced. Sim racing is very different to the reality of watching Motorsport, and F1 in the 2000s and late 90s even, was roundly criticised for its lack of spectacle and overtaking/racing. A sim racer can want a virtual screaming race car all they want, the real racing was simply worse.

Not all of that was down to the engine of course but that era is held in too high a regard simply because of the noise and engine ruleset.

 

[Bram Turismo]

Edit: I personally think The Race is quite unbiased, actually. They just repeat the facts a lot.

The Race is a terrible channel.

I followed them many moons ago when they were actually an informative channel based on the actual engineering behind F1.
They have now turned into a pure clickbait channel, producing videos based purely on rumours and speculation. All they do now is feed uninformed and speculative claims, all in a bid for online traffic upkeep.

I also think people are overly dramatizing the new regulations. Give it time, they'll iron out the bumps. But let's stay real and not for a second dare to say that racing with DRS was actual racing. How sad had the sport become where a pass with DRS was being shown as actual overtake, when it was nothing short of fabricating an overtake to have something to show on live television. Ever since the introduction of the V6 era, the sport has been at an all-time low as far as excitement goes. At least 2012 saw multiple drivers up for a run at the drivers title.

The simple fact is that there is more excitement this year than in past years. And as already pointed out: Excitement = more viewers = more income. In the end that's what it's all about.

 

[Pie O My]

I also think people are overly dramatizing the new regulations. Give it time, they'll iron out the bumps. But let's stay real and not for a second dare to say that racing with DRS was actual racing.

There's a fundamental difference between DRS and what we have now.

And if this is being overblown, can anyone explain why we had the immediate rule changes and now the planned rule changes for upcoming seasons announced not even halfway into this one yet?

 

[LeMansLambo14]

There's a fundamental difference between DRS and what we have now.

And if this is being overblown, can anyone explain why we had the immediate rule changes and now the planned rule changes for upcoming seasons announced not even halfway into this one yet?

True, the aero for the 2026 cars is great for racing. The stronger overtake mode would be a much better alternative for DRS this year if it wasn't for the imbalanced hybrid powertrain. This is ultimately why racing in the previous eras was so bad; it was all the dirty air, nothing to do with the engine

 

[Pie O My]

True, the aero for the 2026 cars is great for racing. The stronger overtake mode would be a much better alternative for DRS this year if it wasn't for the imbalanced hybrid powertrain. This is ultimately why racing in the previous eras was so bad; it was all the dirty air, nothing to do with the engine

It does suck that they messed up the power side when they fixed the thing that had been hampering the racing for years (something I said back in May):

Formula 1 Post in thread 'Formula 1 crypto.com Miami Grand Prix 2026'

May 9, 2026

I reckon it seems sometimes like "Peak" F1 is F1 fans complaining about F1... even the commentators perpetuate it, and it's been a constant theme for the last 20 years or so.


I can be a long term fan of F1 and general motorsport and I figure the 2026 regs are not perfect but they are a very solid move in the right direction.

The recent trend for me is like this:
2026 > 2022 > 2019 > 2014 > 2009.
'batteries oh so confusing for some fans and driver but the racing seems better' >
'bouncing drivers are these engineers drunk? it looks like an absolute farce... become domination' >
'more...

• Pie O My

A switch to a more predominantly ICE powered PU will affect the racing however, as speed differentials in this years "racing" are heavily influenced by there being differences in power availability as a product of the electrical/AI system.

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TBH it's all just so depressing:

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/no-more-battery-info-on-f1-tv-graphics-fans-dont-care-about-that-f1-boss-responds/10842992/

Idiocracy, the sport.