‘Drastic change’: Drivers consider F1’s 2026 regulations

MONTREAL – In the first 24 hours after being announced, the overhaul plan Formula one‘S Technical regulations in 2026 received a mixed reception from drivers. Speaking at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix media day, drivers raised questions about the performance of the proposed cars and their safety, although almost every response was positive. opens with the belief that it is too early to speak definitively about the impact of the new regulations. Have.

The 2026 rulebook stipulates that reductions in car weight and size, significant levels of active aerodynamics to reduce drag on the straights and increased push-to-pass power will replace the system. Current drag reduction (DRS) passes aid. The changes announced on Thursday have been written to work in tandem with F1’s new engine regulations, which will see 50% of a car’s power output come from the power unit’s electrical component and 50% comes from the turbocharged V6 engine.

Following the announcement of the 2022 engine regulations, concerns have been raised that a greater emphasis on electric power could cause cars to run out of battery in a straight line, forcing drivers to slow down significantly and shift gears before the braking zone. New aerodynamic regulations have been drawn up to allay those concerns, with active aerodynamics on both the front and rear wings allowing drag to be reduced by 55% — significantly improving the vehicle’s performance. car. However, the reduction in drag also comes at the cost of downforce – according to the FIA, with a predicted reduction of 30% – which will reduce cornering speeds.

“I’ve talked to a few drivers who have ridden it on the simulator — I’ve never been — but they say it’s quite slow,” the seven-time world champion said. Lewis Hamilton said in Montreal. “So we’ll see if that’s really the right direction to go.

“But I think in terms of sustainability, especially in terms of power units, I think it’s a really bold step and I think it’s moving in the right direction. We just need to make sure the cars work effective, fast and natural.” moving forward and the racing really improved.”

Williams driver Alex Albon also raised concerns about the overall speeds of the cars in the simulation, but said they would likely improve as regulations tightened and development under the new regulations began.

“We have had our sim people do some work, but I haven’t done any work myself,” he said. “I don’t want to say otherwise, but I think it’s going to be very slow, extremely slow.

“I guess there’s a lot going on to make sure straight-line speeds don’t taper off towards the end with all the MGU-K and whatnot. I still think some work needs to be done.

“But seeing some of the speed marks around the tracks, it’s, uh, um, pretty slow, yeah.”

Haas driver Nico Hükenberg added: “It looks like there will be a lot less downforce, especially in high-speed corners. It will be a completely different scenario and characteristics than now.

“So, you know, there’s definitely going to be a drastic change. And, you know, change is always happening… you’re not always open to it, but we’ll see What will happen between now and next year?” year and a half, whether there might be some minor adjustments to what’s going on.”

Champion Max Verstappen said good progress has been made in Red Bull’s simulation and that lap times compared to the current cars will largely depend on track characteristics.

“I’ve seen a lot of simulation in the group – it’s not like it suddenly appeared and now we’re starting to develop, of course it’s something that’s already there and refined,” he said. “And I have to say that from the first time I saw it to the latest updates that I saw, I think they’ve made really good progress in terms of how the engine works with the chassis and the relationship. straight line relationships and other things.

“Of course, some tracks I think will be better than others, when you’re more limited on energy, but that’s something we have to deal with.”

Although reducing drag and downforce will reduce cornering speeds, it will allow for a much higher top speed in a straight line. Mercedes driver George Russellwho is also a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, said safety at speeds of more than 230mph on the straight is something the FIA ​​will have to keep an eye on.

“I think when it comes to safety, unfortunately, history tells us that incidents need to happen before changes can be made,” he said. “Everyone needs to do their due diligence on these regulations, because the cars will go so fast and have so little downforce in a straight line that it will almost feel like you are floating and flying in the air.

“If you can imagine a race where it starts to rain and you’re driving slick tires at 250mph on the street it would be a bit of a sketchy place. These are questions that need to be answered and to be fair to the FIA, they are fully aware of this and above all consider all possible scenarios.

“Time will tell, but these cars are already going very fast and where will we stop? Will we reach speeds of up to 400 km/h? [250 mph]? Do fans really need or want to see that, and what do we really want to achieve?

“For me it’s good racing, I don’t really care about the speed of the cars on the track, you want good racing, hard racing and strong competition, ideally between every team and every rider.”

Drivers have been trying to reduce the weight of their cars for some time to improve handling, but according to the new regulations, the minimum weight will only be reduced by 30 kg. Furthermore, that figure will depend on whether teams can achieve that target when building their cars – something Verstappen is not convinced about.

“Right now [achieving the target weight reduction] He said: “It’s going to be difficult with everything going on. Even now, some teams are still overweight, so to lose 30kg, I know the size.” [of the car] A little change but losing 30kg would be the most perfect scenario [for a team in 2026]let’s say.”

When asked what weight loss would have a positive impact on racing, Verstappen said: “You need at least 100 kg or 150 kg, but at the moment everything is definitely not possible. That also involves the motor and battery being very heavy, long and wide.

“At that point, it was just wishful thinking, but it was definitely something we needed to make it more flexible and more interesting.”