Everything We Need to Know about 2026 F1 cars

[John S]

A pretty comprehensive guide to what F1 cars will be like on 2026 grid.

[Jericoke]

Very cool

I'm a tad surprised they rarely change the engine/chassis rules at the same time. Given how the chassis has to be designed to fit the engine (or vice versa sometimes), it seems natural to approach it all at once.

Overall, I'm excited by the changes, hopefully things get mixed up in a competitive sort of way.  I am glad the cars are getting smaller again, while still focused on safety and innovation.

[lkjohnson1950]

A couple pieces I've read have said the cars may need to spend time just coasting to recharge. Hope that's not true. Haven't decided yet whether to pay Apple to watch. 

[Jericoke]

A couple pieces I've read have said the cars may need to spend time just coasting to recharge. Hope that's not true. Haven't decided yet whether to pay Apple to watch. 

Existing rules have 'lift and coast' either to prolong fuel load or tire wear.  So that's nothing new.

Building the fastest car is great.

Finding the fastest driver is interesting.  They've all got to deal with the same coasting issue, some will deal with it better than others.

Plus... F1 development has always been about deceiving your opponents.  Some engineer somewhere 'leaked' how their engine can't do a full lap at full power, now the competition that has an engine that can feels like they're ahead of the game.