The 2026 Formula 1 season's new overhaul of regulations was initially announced in late 2022. The whole purpose was to make a giant step toward sustainability, environmentally-friendly, and ultimately net-carbon zero by 2030. The highlights of the regulations were to only use sustainable fuel and for cars to rely solely on the internal combustion engine and battery.
Teams have been looking into how they want to approach these regulations for quite some time now. With changes to the aerodynamics, given the slightly smaller cars, many teams did extensive research and simulation testing in 2024.
With preliminary testing and simulations having been run in recent months, teams discovered something quite worrying. Given the fact that the ICE and battery will be a 50-50 split in terms of usage, a flaw was how quickly the battery depletes on the straights. Upon its depletion, the belief is that a Formula 1 car’s speed would be comparable to that of a Formula 4 car.
It is now or never with the new F1 regulations
Given the fact that we are only nine months away from 2026 preseason testing, the leeway in these regulations is rather minimal. However, one major aspect virtually everyone wants to change is the power split between the engine and battery, with a prospective move to favor the engine.
However, there is some opposition to any changes, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff strongly opposing any alterations. The general belief for quite some time has been that Mercedes are far ahead and will have a huge advantage in 2026, similar to 2014 when there was another large regulation change.
If no changes were to be made, it would make next season a throw-away year for Formula 1, which would benefit no one. Given the expectation that another regulation change will occur in 2030, it would be in the best interest of all parties involved to maximize the regulations during the next four years.
The FIA and others representing Formula 1 must think about this soon, as not making a change could damage the sport. A solution must be approved soon, as teams will likely enter a heavy production stage in the summer and well into the summer break.