Formula 1 2026 has divided opinions. While the nimbler and lighter chassis has been applauded, the energy-starved power units have come under scrutiny.
The opening races produced plenty of overtakes, with the Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix featuring 120 on track, almost three times as many as last year.
The two Scuderia Ferrari HP drivers entertained with a thrilling battle at the Heineken Chinese Grand Prix, and Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli won his first race, becoming just the second teenager to achieve the feat in the last 10 years after Max Verstappen in 2016.
Lewis Hamilton was among those to praise the new cars, branding his tussle with Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc one of the “most enjoyable” moments of his 20-year F1 career.
“The fact that the cars are the way they are this year, that battle with Charles at the end was awesome. Great wheel-to-wheel battle, very fair and just what we want,” said Hamilton.
Although the racing has received rave reviews from those at the front, some believe the action and overtaking figures are inflated by F1’s new racing format, with drivers and fans branding the mix of Overtake mode and battery harvesting as artificial.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen joked that he swapped his simulator for Mario Kart, referring to the burst of acceleration the new mode provides drivers, while George Russell has urged people to give the new cars a chance before drawing conclusions.
Meanwhile, reigning world champion Lando Norris also claimed drivers were looking at their steering wheels more than at optimising their driving, warning of the safety risks associated with the high closing speeds between cars with lots of energy and those harvesting.
Such a near-miss scenario played out in Melbourne between Hamilton and Franco Colapinto in practice, while the BWT Alpine F1 team driver also narrowly avoided crashing into the back of a slow-moving Liam Lawson at the start of the race.
F1 teams in ‘open discussion’ over rules change
The main topic of discussion is centred around F1’s complex energy management rules and whether tweaks are needed to the harvesting and deployment levels.
The larger MGU-K can harvest a maximum of 350kW from braking, and energy from the rear axle when drivers utilise lift and coast.
There is also scope to increase this under acceleration, also known as ‘super clipping’, where the drivers use part throttle and the MGU-K harvests energy from the internal combustion engine rather than sending it to the rear wheels.
Super clipping currently only allows a maximum of 250kW of recovery, but a rule change could see that increased to 350kW after it was trialled by McLaren during pre-season testing.
Discussions have been ongoing between the teams, F1 and the FIA since the Bahrain test, according to Oracle Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies, who believes a solution could be implemented early in the season.
“We said, ‘Look, let’s do these first races and see what we are getting.’ If there is a need for adjustment, there will be all the willingness across the grid to adjust for the benefit of the sport,” said Mekies.
“We’ll probably regroup again after China and discuss what adjustments are needed short-term, mid-term and long-term.”
The regulations provide scope for this type of rule change, but it would require a super majority vote in the F1 Commission. This means 28 votes out of a possible 33, with the FIA, teams, and F1 commercial rights holders each receiving 11 votes.
The FIA could force a change on safety grounds if there is sufficient evidence that it poses a safety risk to drivers and requires action.
F1 teams wary of knee-jerk reactions
Any change is likely to affect the competitive order, with Audi Revolut F1 team principal Jonathan Wheatley outlining how performance has changed across the four tracks F1 has visited so far under these regulations.
“Every single time we’ve come to a new circuit, it’s exposed again other areas in the car where there’s a performance deficit, where you have to tune the car differently,” said Wheatley.
Audi is among the teams all fighting for positions behind the big four, and any shakeup could have big financial implications in the Constructors’ Championship.
The top prize for fifth in the championship is as high as £77 million, with a swing of £27 million if a team drops down to ninth in the order. Teams often have performance bonuses, while being higher up in the order also makes it easier to secure sponsorship.
It’s been encouraging to see the amount of conversation, the open discussion between teams and the FIA on how to manage this set of technical regulations.
Jonathan Wheatley
While there is no known direct impact on Audi that any rule change could have, Wheatley praised F1 and the FIA for not making any knee-jerk reactions based on what has happened in the first couple of races.
“It’s a world championship. We’ve got to keep a steady hand, and the FIA are doing that at the moment. It’s been encouraging to see the amount of conversation, the open discussion between teams and the FIA on how to manage this set of technical regulations,” added Wheatley.
“I can’t emphasise again just what an ambitious set of technical regulations this is and how complicated these cars are to manage. It’s a case of just trying to keep everything under control at the moment and just see how it develops over time.”
Any urgent rule changes could be implemented as early as the Aramco Japanese Grand Prix, while further tweaks could take place at subsequent races.
The cancellation of the Gulf Air Bahrain and STC Saudi Arabian Grands Prix also gives F1 more time to sort out a proper solution before racing returns in May.
