Are 2026 F1 regulations broken? How to fix them?

[gearboxtrouble]

I am a bit confused. With all the new electric gizmos this year, I assumed that on top of the all deciding algorithm, drivers would have 2 extra buttons in their steering wheels:

One would say: dear ECU, I know this is not the optimal point for deployment, not even close. I know this will cost me cartloads of lap time later, but if I have any MJ that are legal to use right now, I’d very much like to use them right now.
Button A: MOAR POWA NOOOOWW!

The second button would be: Dear ECU, I think you are a bit confused because this was the optimal point to deploy the last 20 times, or was it that throttle blip? In any case, dear ECU, me be da boss here, kindly do not deploy any energy at this occasion. I know, it hurts, but don’t deploy now, thanks.
Button B: HOLD YOUR E-HORSES!

But the way the drivers talk, they do not seem to have any of those buttons, and it is all really an algorithm deciding?
Can this be right?

And if yes, is it in the rules that they shall not have such buttons, or is it a team choice? if choice, i can see a ton of strategic value in having A and B available…

Button A is the boost mode (available at any place, any time) and button B is the right pedal (could be reduced at any place, any time)

Button A is only available when you have charge so <20% of the time. Therein lies the biggest problem of these regs.

Beyond all the fixes we've already discussed - deployment nerf, banning non brake harvesting, fuel flow boost etc I wonder if front regen is at all possible for 27 or at least 28. F1 could provide a spec front wheel regen system to all teams so that the whole "Audi will have an advantage" bs never gets repeated. It would increase the brake harvesting possible and lower the amount of engine redesign that needs to happen. We could do 27 as a transitional season with a 700hp ICE and 200 hp MGU-K and for 28 the extra harvesting should allow the full 1000 hp. They could use in wheel generators to minimize the dynamic penalty.

[michl420]

Correction: you are right, Michl. Partial lift would mimic my button B.
Half torque demand would request power equal to the full ICE capacity, leaving no energy to harvest but also no need to deploy. So it is my button B.
It would be hard to control, as partial throttle is normally felt by grip, and the driver would get no such feedback in a straight, but it should be doable.

So they have button A and button B?! And button B is throttable? Then I’d say the driver is IN CONTROl.
Sure, clumsy and inconvenient controls, but workable controls.

And Leclerc could have mitigated the glitch and had his energy in the following straight, but he lacked the testing experience to anticipate it! Fascinating!

I was actually thinking in winter, if it would be possible to make some sort of a cick-down pedal. A point in the travel-way of the pedal to help the driver to give just ice power for short straights

[michl420]

I am a bit confused. With all the new electric gizmos this year, I assumed that on top of the all deciding algorithm, drivers would have 2 extra buttons in their steering wheels:

One would say: dear ECU, I know this is not the optimal point for deployment, not even close. I know this will cost me cartloads of lap time later, but if I have any MJ that are legal to use right now, I’d very much like to use them right now.
Button A: MOAR POWA NOOOOWW!

The second button would be: Dear ECU, I think you are a bit confused because this was the optimal point to deploy the last 20 times, or was it that throttle blip? In any case, dear ECU, me be da boss here, kindly do not deploy any energy at this occasion. I know, it hurts, but don’t deploy now, thanks.
Button B: HOLD YOUR E-HORSES!

But the way the drivers talk, they do not seem to have any of those buttons, and it is all really an algorithm deciding?
Can this be right?


And if yes, is it in the rules that they shall not have such buttons, or is it a team choice? if choice, i can see a ton of strategic value in having A and B available…

Button A is the boost mode (available at any place, any time) and button B is the right pedal (could be reduced at any place, any time)

Button A is only available when you have charge so <20% of the time. Therein lies the biggest problem of these regs.

Well, this is like a driver with 1000hp say, it would be good to have 1100hp. This is in motorsport since 1900. Many people (and I surly not mean special you) have to accept, this is a hybrid engine. They harvest energy at the end of a straight and give it back at the beginning. This is the nature of it, this is their right to exist. But it is maybe not the best engine for a series like F1.

[gearboxtrouble]

Button A is the boost mode (available at any place, any time) and button B is the right pedal (could be reduced at any place, any time)

Button A is only available when you have charge so <20% of the time. Therein lies the biggest problem of these regs.

Well, this is like a driver with 1000hp say, it would be good to have 1100hp. This is in motorsport since 1900. Many people (and I surly not mean special you) have to accept, this is a hybrid engine. They harvest energy at the end of a straight and give it back at the beginning. This is the nature of it, this is their right to exist. But it is maybe not the best engine for a series like F1.

I agree - this is an endurance racing engine. It doesn't belong in F1 which is supposed to be a flat out racing series. I realize that the 2014-2025 engines were also not 1000hp at all times but thanks to the MGU-H and much more powerful ICE they were at least 900+ hp engines on demand. The current ones are 1000hp for 10-20% of the time, 250 (superclip) - 550 (ICE only) engines the rest of the time. That's a disaster.

[toraabe]

Ok. This year is gone. We have to bring back the MGU h or actually the 2025 engine.....

[BorisTheBlade]

I was actually thinking in winter, if it would be possible to make some sort of a cick-down pedal. A point in the travel-way of the pedal to help the driver to give just ice power for short straights

IIRC this is explicitly forbidden by the rules. Sorry for being too lazy to give you the reference.

[Rikhart]

One can hope.

[LM10]

Increasing driver critics. The loudest ones being:

Verstappen - as we know right from the beginning.

Leclerc - after Japan he once again showed his frustration about qualifying because being faster in corners means being slower overall now (it goes against the spirit of racing).

Norris - he said that the drivers are just passengers and gave the example of his overtake on Hamilton in Japan as he didn’t even want it to happen, but his battery decided to deploy.

Note that we’re not talking about some fan opinion. It’s a multiple world champion, the current world champion and one of the best qualifiers in the history of this sport (thus his anger is absolutely understandable).

[zibby43]

Increasing driver critics. The loudest ones being:

Verstappen - as we know right from the beginning.

Leclerc - after Japan he once again showed his frustration about qualifying because being faster in corners means being slower overall now (it goes against the spirit of racing).

Norris - he said that the drivers are just passengers and gave the example of his overtake on Hamilton in Japan as he didn’t even want it to happen, but his battery decided to deploy.

Note that we’re not talking about some fan opinion. It’s a multiple world champion, the current world champion and one of the best qualifiers in the history of this sport (thus his anger is absolutely understandable).

As an FYI, his post-race interview after Suzuka, LEC said he enjoyed the racing and they needed to tweak qualifying.

LEC: "I enjoyed it. On a track, which, has historically been very difficult to overtake, we are still seeing some overtakes with these cars. So, I am still convinced about . . . what I think that these cars . . . the racing is fun and I like it. Qualifying, some tweaks have to be made."

I agree with him.

[hollus]

As mentioned above: Leclerc and Norris could have used “button B”, and not become slower and not pass, respectively.
Leclerc would have needed to know (or decide or feel) when to lift to 50% to get ICE only and then when to lift to 30% to get his super-clipping equivalent.

It is weird and for now it feels unnatural to the drivers, but it can be done.
Different and new is hard, apparently equally for drivers and fans.

[BorisTheBlade]

Not sure about that. Super clipping is only allowed under full throttle. That is why teams tweak de-rating for any specific corner, so that full throttle means something entirely different in different parts of the track. Two extreme examples:
As the esses were exclusion zones, full-throttle after T1 might have meant starting with only 50 KW power to the wheels and staying there during full-throttle (with 350 KW recovery).
On the back straight they might have started with 750 KW sloping down to 150 KW during 130R (with 250 KW recovery).
Slightly lifting resets that regime with unexpected results. It is really a certain kind of automatism.

[venkyhere]

I am a bit confused. With all the new electric gizmos this year, I assumed that on top of the all deciding algorithm, drivers would have 2 extra buttons in their steering wheels:

One would say: dear ECU, I know this is not the optimal point for deployment, not even close. I know this will cost me cartloads of lap time later, but if I have any MJ that are legal to use right now, I’d very much like to use them right now.
Button A: MOAR POWA NOOOOWW!

The second button would be: Dear ECU, I think you are a bit confused because this was the optimal point to deploy the last 20 times, or was it that throttle blip? In any case, dear ECU, me be da boss here, kindly do not deploy any energy at this occasion. I know, it hurts, but don’t deploy now, thanks.
Button B: HOLD YOUR E-HORSES!

But the way the drivers talk, they do not seem to have any of those buttons, and it is all really an algorithm deciding?
Can this be right?

And if yes, is it in the rules that they shall not have such buttons, or is it a team choice? if choice, i can see a ton of strategic value in having A and B available…

Call it coincidence, I had posted the same thing in the Suzuka race thread :

I have an easy solution - allow deployment/recharge manually (two buttons), by the driver, no AI stuff. Throttle/brake pedal position can be used to determine rate of deployment/recharge that each button press commands. Driver has to use his brain and driving skill, simultaneously. Right now, driver is just a pedal press timer.

It would be a test of the driver (grip feel + cerebral ability) rather than a test of the AI algorithm expert within the engg team. If the 4MJ battery runs dry or is used sub optimally, it would be the fault of the driver and his race engineer.

[Rikhart]

Increasing driver critics. The loudest ones being:

Verstappen - as we know right from the beginning.

Leclerc - after Japan he once again showed his frustration about qualifying because being faster in corners means being slower overall now (it goes against the spirit of racing).

Norris - he said that the drivers are just passengers and gave the example of his overtake on Hamilton in Japan as he didn’t even want it to happen, but his battery decided to deploy.

Note that we’re not talking about some fan opinion. It’s a multiple world champion, the current world champion and one of the best qualifiers in the history of this sport (thus his anger is absolutely understandable).

Also Alonso, Hamilton, Albon, etc.

[FW17]

Need to get rid of all the gizmos.
Recharge when braking at 350kw
Deploy at whenever the wing is open

[hollus]

Hmmm. Would a rule like
“no deployment above 225 km/h”
solve 80% of the critique while preserving 80% of the lap time gains from deployment and still making the electric part crucial?

And would a rule like
“no harvesting over 20% throttle”
or
“no harvesting over 250 km/h”
take care of the other 20% of complaints?

Most of the gains are made in the initial acceleration phase anyways, and this could be implemented with no hardware changes.