2026 F1 Cars - General Thread

[michl420]

That will be seen. If they can really reach 355 kph (as Ocon say), than they drive with the ICE alone. And than the drag limit (for ~550 bhp) can not be so far.

[Badger]

Just listened to The Race's latest podcast. Let's just say the accredited media have received their marching orders when it comes to portraying these cars in a positive light. One of the hosts was seriously suggesting that F1 should avoid filming the cars from the back on quali laps so we can't see the blinking red lights from harvesting

Basically the entire podcast is an attempt at innoculating the fandom against negative reactions to these cars. If a team or driver says something negative they are peddling influence, if someone says something positive they are being genuine. I'm expecting the next few months of coverage to be rainbows and sunshine, with the cars "overachieving expectations" in the eyes of the media.

[AR3-GP]

Just listened to The Race's latest podcast. Let's just say the accredited media have received their marching orders when it comes to portraying these cars in a positive light. One of the hosts was seriously suggesting that F1 should avoid filming the cars from the back on quali laps so we can't see the blinking red lights from harvesting

Basically the entire podcast is an attempt at innoculating the fandom against negative reactions to these cars. If a team or driver says something negative they are peddling influence, if someone says something positive they are being genuine. I'm expecting the next few months of coverage to be rainbows and sunshine, with the cars "overachieving expectations" in the eyes of the media.

They are going to have a problem posting the pole laps on F1’s social media. It will be very disorienting to see and hear the pole man lifting and coasting into every corner like he is on a Sunday drive. That’s what pole laps will look like this year. Lackadaisical.

[FittingMechanics]

No one will be coasting, we should know better here. When they lift, the car will start to break with 350kW of force, this is not the force of braking but it will start to slow down significantly.

Lift and coast is when the cars run freely, at the end of straights to preserve fuel, only deceleration there is drag and possibly engine braking (I would assume they have a lift and coast mode that lets it freewheel but who knows).

I bet that this lift and MGU-K brake will be no where as noticeable as everyone thinks it will be.

[AR3-GP]

No one will be coasting, we should know better here. When they lift, the car will start to break with 350kW of force, this is not the force of braking but it will start to slow down significantly.

Lift and coast is when the cars run freely, at the end of straights to preserve fuel, only deceleration there is drag and possibly engine braking (I would assume they have a lift and coast mode that lets it freewheel but who knows).

I bet that this lift and MGU-K brake will be no where as noticeable as everyone thinks it will be.

We know what it will be because we have already seen race cars with this high electric split. The laps are underwhelming. It sounds like they are doing an economy run into every single corner. Also, the cars won't brake at 350kw without actually using the brake. Part throttle recovery is limited around 150kW iirc.

[johnnycesup]

One thing that hasn't been talked about AFAIK is that now the drivers, alongside managing all the PU systems, will have to essentially pick 2 braking points for most corners, one to start regen and one to actually brake.

I don't think it's straightforward at all, and some drivers might be better at judging how fast they actually are than others

[TeamKoolGreen]

Apparently, Ocon reached 355kph in Barcelona, I assume with overtake mode. At 354kph, the MGU-K is limited to 20kW. The fact Ocon could still accelerate to 355kph means the terminal velocity with 420kW (if we assume a 400kW engine) is at least 355kph. The terminal velocity with the engine alone is then at least 349kph.

Great point! I had a suspicion people are underestimating how slippery these cars will be on the straight and this proves it.

why would we be under estimating that ? The whole regulation change was about stripping off drag and downforce because the PU couldn't handle any of it. And still can't

[TeamKoolGreen]

No one will be coasting, we should know better here. When they lift, the car will start to break with 350kW of force, this is not the force of braking but it will start to slow down significantly.

Lift and coast is when the cars run freely, at the end of straights to preserve fuel, only deceleration there is drag and possibly engine braking (I would assume they have a lift and coast mode that lets it freewheel but who knows).

I bet that this lift and MGU-K brake will be no where as noticeable as everyone thinks it will be.

We know what it will be because we have already seen race cars with this high electric split. The laps are underwhelming. It sounds like they are doing an economy run into every single corner. Also, the cars won't brake at 350kw without actually using the brake. Part throttle recovery is limited around 150kW iirc.

God that is terrible. F1 will need to change its slogan. Late brakers, risk takers and history makers isn't going to work anymore with this kind of driving.

Why couldn't the drivers get an audible signal into their ear about when to let off and brake at each corner ? A computer program could do the calculations and just spit it to the driver. Or they could use some kind of code

[FittingMechanics]

No one will be coasting, we should know better here. When they lift, the car will start to break with 350kW of force, this is not the force of braking but it will start to slow down significantly.

Lift and coast is when the cars run freely, at the end of straights to preserve fuel, only deceleration there is drag and possibly engine braking (I would assume they have a lift and coast mode that lets it freewheel but who knows).

I bet that this lift and MGU-K brake will be no where as noticeable as everyone thinks it will be.

We know what it will be because we have already seen race cars with this high electric split. The laps are underwhelming. It sounds like they are doing an economy run into every single corner. Also, the cars won't brake at 350kw without actually using the brake. Part throttle recovery is limited around 150kW iirc.

Yes, but off throttle is not limited to 150 kW.

Were these Lemans cars hybrids limited to about 10% of needed electrical energy per lap as these cars are? This makes a big difference on how much lift and harvest you need to do.

[Stu]

One thing that hasn't been talked about AFAIK is that now the drivers, alongside managing all the PU systems, will have to essentially pick 2 braking points for most corners, one to start regen and one to actually brake.

I don't think it's straightforward at all, and some drivers might be better at judging how fast they actually are than others

…and making sure that the tyres stay in the zone…

I think that the drivers are going to be very busy juggling all of this by the time it comes to qualify. It will be interesting to see how quickly the teams give the drivers the tools that they need to maximise performance through a Q-lap.

[FW17]

F1 should have dark zones on track where cars can recharge in peace every lap
like virtual safety car it will have a delta or speed limit
area of track will have cameras or spectators
energy limit to the MGU will not be an issue
Pirelli will be very happy that tyres perform without issues

[De Wet]

F1 should have dark zones on track where cars can recharge in peace every lap
like virtual safety car it will have a delta or speed limit
area of track will have cameras or spectators
energy limit to the MGU will not be an issue
Pirelli will be very happy that tyres perform without issues

Why bother racing then ?

[FW17]

F1 should have dark zones on track where cars can recharge in peace every lap
like virtual safety car it will have a delta or speed limit
area of track will have cameras or spectators
energy limit to the MGU will not be an issue
Pirelli will be very happy that tyres perform without issues

Why bother racing then ?

You are not going to see the dark zone, so why does it matter?

[Seanspeed]

One thing that hasn't been talked about AFAIK is that now the drivers, alongside managing all the PU systems, will have to essentially pick 2 braking points for most corners, one to start regen and one to actually brake.

I don't think it's straightforward at all, and some drivers might be better at judging how fast they actually are than others

They'll figure all this stuff out in the simulator before they even arrive at a track for the most part.

This season is gonna be about which team did the best engineering. Not that it'll be easy for drivers, but F1 practice is more about ensuring correlation these days. Much of the actual practice comes in the simulator room now.

[De Wet]

F1 should have dark zones on track where cars can recharge in peace every lap
like virtual safety car it will have a delta or speed limit
area of track will have cameras or spectators
energy limit to the MGU will not be an issue
Pirelli will be very happy that tyres perform without issues

Why bother racing then ?

You are not going to see the dark zone, so why does it matter?

Because the suggestion was made... And we all know how stupid the FIA are. They will think it's a great idea...