Temporada F1 2026 🏎

[llumia]

11 things we learned from F1's first 2026 test

Formula 1's first test of 2026 has ended and despite it being closed off we learned an awful lot about a brand new era of cars and engines.

Testing's sleeper hit

Ferrari was the sleeper hit of this test – starting off quietly, and very productive, if not earning rave reviews like a certain other team, before jumping to the top of the times right at the end of the week.

Even before Lewis Hamilton's late surge, this was shaping up to be a strong week for Ferrari. As strong as we can judge with so many testing caveats of course.

Charles Leclerc had also got closer to Mercedes' benchmark on the final before handing the car over, so the SF-26 looks reasonably brisk.

But the team's also clearly well prepared, as when you factor in that its first day on-track was limited somewhat by awful weather conditions, clearing 2000km is even more impressive.

As Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said: "It's really early stages and most important is to be able to complete laps."

As well as already enjoying these cars, Hamilton reckons this pre-season has already started better than 2025. Given Ferrari considers this its 'Spec-A' car, with much development to come, that's a good place to be.

Mercedes the real benchmark

Mercedes still feels like the real early benchmark though, given it didn't run on the final day when track conditions were likely at their best.

By its own admission Mercedes could not have hoped for a better first week of testing, and set an unmatchable early standard in terms of mileage. Mercedes' own humblebrag pointed out that it lost more time because other cars were stopping on track than through its own issues!

It was also effortlessly quick, and feedback on the cars' traits in the real world versus simulation has been tentatively positive - the car feels better than it did on the simulator, and the drivers are happy with initial engine driveability even with greater electric power and no MGU-H.

Mercedes also looks a step ahead of its customer teams too, making full use of its works status with understanding the demands of these brand new engines.

You might remember Mercedes had a great first test with the new 2022 cars too, which was obviously no indication of what it would actually go on to achieve.

But if nothing else Mercedes was better prepared than any team for the start of testing and is now ready to take the next step in Bahrain.

Red Bull engine surprises

The work of Red Bull's new in-house engine division has not gone unnoticed at Mercedes with George Russell name-checking it on the opening day and then indirectly referring to the engine again on Thursday.

He said it was impressive, and quite surprising, to see what the new manufacturers have been capable of. And unless Russell's got a completely different view of Audi's running to everyone else that can only mean Red Bull-Ford Powertrains.

Russell was right to say that the first test for Red Bull's engine had gone much better than expected because "a lot of people anticipated the new suppliers to struggle".

Beyond some minor niggles, which everyone had, things ran very well in both the Red Bull and Racing Bulls camps - with a really healthy number of laps compared to the established manufacturers considering this is just a two-team programme.

Engine mileage
Team        Laps     Kilometres     
Mercedes    1132     5,271.72
Ferrari      989     4,605.77
RBPT         622     2,896.65
Audi         240     1,117.68
Honda         65       302.71


Max Verstappen said Red Bull had "hit the ground running quite well" with the engine and Racing Bulls chief technical officer Tim Goss lauded the driveability in particular, calling it "fantastic."

But, of course, we need to wait to see its ultimate performance.

Own goals for F1

One of the biggest discussion points among fans about the week was not the cars but the aggressive security lockdown and sometimes laughable sugar-coating of events by the official F1 channels when it came to coverage.

With F1's teams having come together to arrange their own closed test, the initial plan had been for a complete information blackout with media and creators banned.

In the end, compromises ensured some limited official F1 coverage – which some teams did not like and left some fans baffled.

With photos and video being put out, it was not a good look for F1 to then have security and the police threatening spectators and media with fines for watching from the hills overlooking the track.

And it wasn't missed that F1's own official reporting and highlights from the event went full-on propaganda and seemed to ignore any mention of red flags.

For example, there was widespread mocking of Isack Hadjar's big crash being referred to by F1 as a 'small off'.

The secrecy and spin was all so needless, considering those on the ground were getting information out anyway – and the cars ran so well.

Even teams that caused red flags, like Alpine and Haas, were able to rebound with monster final days completing 164 and 190 laps respectively!

What the drivers revealed about new cars/engines

Drivers had plenty of prior experience of these cars in the digital domain through simulator running, but it's only now that they've been able to experience this for real.

The nature of the private test and how information was carefully allowed out of it means that inevitably the messaging was positive, but we've learned plenty about these new cars.

As world champion Lando Norris says, the cornering speed is down thanks to the reduced downforce, which means the cars visibly scrabble for grip in the corners, but the straightline speed and acceleration catches the attention. Mercedes driver Russell even suggested after watching from trackside that during this test the cars were travelling faster than he's ever seen on the main straight at Barcelona.

And despite concerns about the extent to which drivers might not be able to express themselves behind the wheel, Liam Lawson reckons there's plenty of opportunity for drivers to make a difference.

The cars were also a challenge in the wet, as Hadjar discovered to his and Red Bull's cost when he spun at the final corner on the second day of running and backed into the wall.

Problems for 2025 pacesetters

This was a middling test overall for last year's pacesetters McLaren and Red Bull, as each team had setbacks to recover from in the middle of their programmes.

Red Bull ran on the first two days of the test immediately with its new car and in-house engine, which all seemed to be going pretty smoothly until Hadjar backed the car into the barriers.

The damage was such that the Red Bull didn't reappear for its final permitted day on-track until Friday, after spares were flown out from its Milton Keynes base.

No major track time was lost, at least, and Verstappen got a nice full day in the car on Friday, completing 118 laps – though the four-time world champion will hope there's plenty being held back given he was just over a second off the pace.

Team mileage

Team         Laps    Km
Mercedes      500    2,328.50
Ferrari       439    2,044.42
Haas          386    1,797.60
Alpine        349    1,625.29
Racing Bulls  319    1,485.58
Red Bull      303    1,411.07
McLaren       283    1,317.93
Audi          240    1,117.68
Cadillac      164      763.75
Aston Martin   65      302.71

And it was simply not as productive a test as other big teams managed, which also goes for McLaren.

Slow to get going on its first morning of track running, McLaren then lost even more time on the MCL40's second day because of a fuel system issue. Neil Houldey, McLaren technical director (engineering), described it as "small, niggly, little issues [that] cost quite a bit of downtime."

Friday was smoother, with its drivers getting a good amount of track time with 162 laps combined. That brought its total up to just about average but not as much over the week as McLaren had intended.

New Aston Martin's the wildcard

Aston Martin made us wait, and wait, and wait some more to see its first Adrian Newey design – but it was well worth it.

Visually different with some fundamentally different architecture and interesting aerodynamic choices, the AMR26 is definitely the wildcard in the pack.

Who knows if it's actually any good, because the extremely late arrival meant the car didn't run long enough or quickly enough to judge how well those novel solutions work in reality or what kind of state new engine partner Honda is in.

Gary Anderson's in-depth analysis of 2026 Aston Martin F1 car
Video: Aston Martin's aggressive car explained
Why new Aston Martin F1 car debuted with blue warning light

We believe the car is overweight, by quite a reasonable amount, so even by testing standards this could be the car currently furthest from its ultimate potential.

That just makes it all the better that we actually got sight of it after what Fernando Alonso called a "very, very intense" couple of weeks trying to get it ready.

Audi has a long to-do list

Audi's first F1 car and engine were signed off in a preliminary form to be able to run an early shakedown and rack up mileage here.

The final version of both should be more advanced but that initial caution wasn't really rewarded with a stunningly productive test.

Audi had costly problems on all three days it ran, causing two red flags and spending a chunk of Friday morning in the garage again.

A very good recovery on the final day, after the slow start, meant it managed 60% of its weekly running on Friday! But it still ended up one of the worst teams in terms of on-track productivity.

That's why project leader Mattia Binotto, formerly of Ferrari, says the list of things to do after this test is the longest he's ever seen!

Cadillac's deceptive deficit

Cadillac made a stuttering start to the test, managing just 44 laps on the first day with Sergio Perez's afternoon running plagued by issues.

This was all part of what Valtteri Bottas described as "the problem-solving phase" for F1's newest team.

Plenty was learned on the first day of running and the team spent Tuesday and Wednesday focused on off-track work before returning to action, and Perez said that they were even starting to get into set-up work.

But as well as limited running, it's no surprise that Cadillac's headline pace was nowhere.

Expectations should be set low for 2026 but there's no doubt the car will show more pace in the next test in Bahrain as the team with vastly more to do than any of its rivals works through its programme.

That's why team boss Graeme Lowdon said he's still "really happy" with a test Cadillac ended 4.6seconds off the pace and bottom on mileage out of the teams that completed their full three-day allocation of testing.

How new cars look and sound

While the security did its best to keep non-team personnel as far away from the track as possible, that did not stop many still being able to get a close look at the cars.

Early impressions from those inside, from teams and even drivers, and outside the circuit are that the 2026 challengers look better than their predecessor both aesthetically and on track.

They are a bit punchier coming out of corners too, with frequent wheelspin on display.

One thing that did stand out from those able to get a peek of the cars on the run to Turn 1 was how quick they get to top speed early on the straights.

And for those that care about the noise, the first impression is that they seem to be a step up from last year thanks to the muffling effect of the MGU-H having been removed.

From observing practice starts, it also seems drivers like their getaways to be done with some very punchy revs!

How the sole rookie got on

There's only one rookie on the grid this season and despite being a wildcard pick, he's made a good early impression with his new team.

Eighteen-year-old Arvid Lindblad will be the fourth-youngest driver in F1 history when he makes his debut in Australia and has been promoted to a Racing Bulls seat after just one promising but unspectacular year in Formula 2.

His speed at his best is very impressive, and Racing Bulls reckons he's already looking quick compared to team-mate Lawson.

But what's also stood out is his inquisitive nature - asking lots and lots of questions.

This reminded team boss Alan Permane of what Lindblad's predecessor Hadjar was like 12 months ago, which is no bad comparison given what Hadjar went on to do on-track.


https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/11-things-we-learned-from-f1-first-2026-test/

[llumia]

La McLaren F1 MCL40, bajo la lupa de N. Carpentiers:

La MCL40 à la loupe : la McLaren pour maintenir Norris au sommet ?



McLaren prend tout le monde à revers avec une MCL40 déjà très aboutie... et très différente de ses rivales. Analyse en images.

Jamais deux sans trois ? Après avoir remporté les deux derniers titres chez les constructeurs, McLaren s'imposera-t-elle avec la MCL40 ? Rien n'est moins sûr selon Andrea Stella, qui avoue : "Nous sommes champions, mais nous n'emportons pas notre statut de champions avec nous en 2026. Tout le monde repart de zéro".

Par rapport aux autres F1 2026 dévoilées, la McLaren est sans doute la monoplace la plus aboutie, dans la mesure où elle n'évoluera pas beaucoup d'ici au premier Grand Prix en mars (contrairement à la Ferrari SF-26, appelée à changer considérablement avant l'Australie).

L'écurie britannique entend ainsi retarder l'introduction d'évolutions majeures sur sa MCL40 jusqu'à ce qu'elle dispose d'une bonne compréhension du comportement de sa voiture.

"Entre Barcelone et Melbourne, je pense que ce que vous verrez correspondra pratiquement à ce que nous alignerons lors de la première course, a expliqué le directeur technique Rob Marshall, qui fut longtemps le bras droit d'Adrian Newey chez Red Bull. Une grande partie de nos efforts sera consacrée à la compréhension de cette voiture. Elle est très compliquée. Tout est nouveau. Introduire des nouveautés très tôt compliquerait les choses."

"Nous devons aussi prendre en compte ce que font nos adversaires : nous devons nous inspirer de ce qu'ils pourraient — ou non — réussir, et de ce qu'ils pourraient — ou non — nous montrer. C'est pour cela que nous avons choisi de lancer la voiture dans sa configuration la plus compétitive possible."

Que peut-on alors relever sur cette MCL40 déjà bien mature ?



Une McLaren en version Grand Prix d'Australie

Pour les raisons que l'on vient d'avancer, l'aileron avant de la MCL40 apparaît plus élaboré que ceux observés jusqu'à présent sur les autres monoplaces.

La dérive latérale (indiquée par les flèches jaunes) est sans doute l'une des plus profilées et des plus complexes vues jusqu'ici. Elle est comme tordue, torsadée, avec un bord d'attaque amont orienté presque vers l'intérieur avant de s'ouvrir progressivement vers l'extérieur. Il s'agit d'une géométrie d'outwash, comme sur l'ensemble des autres F1 2026, mais dans une version plus aboutie (les formes de l'Aston Martin AMR26, plus simples, correspondent à une version de test).

La tendance de McLaren à utiliser des ailerons avant dotés d'une surface frontale sensiblement plus importante se poursuit par rapport au cycle de réglementation précédent.

On relèvera l'inclinaison vers le bas de l'ailette fixée perpendiculairement à la dérive (flèches rouges). Si cette orientation produit sans doute un peu de portance, elle vise surtout à contrôler la direction de rotation du vortex vers les côtés extérieurs (outwash).

À noter aussi que la MCL40 place l'ajusteur de volet à l'intérieur du nez, à l'image des Red Bull RB22 et Mercedes W17, et non à l'extérieur comme sur la Ferrari. Un orifice est visible dans un panneau amovible, juste au-dessus des actionneurs aérodynamiques actifs (il est probable qu'un outil permette d'ajuster les deux côtés de l'aileron via cette ouverture).

Enfin, bien que cela soit relativement difficile à distinguer, le profil situé sous le nez semble adopter une forme en V.



Des choix guidés par l'aérodynamique

Les éléments de l'aileron avant sont fortement chargés au niveau central, puis s'évasent jusqu'au rayon maximal autorisé par la réglementation vers la dérive latérale. Cela génère très probablement un important upwash que gère ensuite la géométrie de la suspension. C'est l'une des raisons pour lesquelles la configuration à poussoir est un choix pertinent.

Ce choix s'inscrit dans la tendance observée sur la grille : sept des neuf équipes ayant dévoilé leur monoplace ont opté pour une suspension avant à poussoir, l'Alpine A526 et la Cadillac F1 2026 faisant exception.

"Plusieurs voitures utilisaient l'an dernier, et les années précédentes, des suspensions à poussoir ou à tirant », explique Marshall. Tout se résume à un choix aérodynamique : quelle configuration de suspension avant convient le mieux à votre nouvel aileron avant."

"Le choix est vraiment dicté par l'aérodynamique. Les deux solutions sont relativement simples à réaliser mécaniquement ; elles ne représentent pas un défi mécanique particulier."

Notons que la McLaren conserve sa suspension anti-plongée très marquée, contrairement à la Red Bull (comparez l'angle formé par les bras du triangle supérieur sur l'image ci-dessus).



McLaren conserve sa suspension multibras

Par ailleurs, la suspension avant reprend la configuration à multibras déjà utilisée par l'écurie en 2025.

Dans le triangle inférieur, les deux bras ne se fixent pas à la roue en un seul point, mais en deux points différents. Comme on le voit sur l'image ci-dessus, deux bras distincts relient le porte-moyeu en des points différents, créant ainsi un axe de direction virtuel.

Cette géométrie modifie le carrossage, le pincement et la hauteur de caisse en fonction de l'angle de braquage et du débattement de la suspension.

Elle aide à la gestion des pneumatiques et permet aussi de positionner la biellette de direction dans une zone aérodynamiquement intéressante.

Les bargeboards (ou stores vénitiens) de la MCL40, qui affiche une assiette très penchée vers l'avant, sont différents de ceux observés sur les autres voitures. Ils semblent davantage gérer la bordure du fond plat que le sillage des pneus.



McLaren s'écarte de Mercedes, Red Bull et Ferrari

Les pontons de la MCL40 sont plus complexes qu'il n'y paraît : la monocoque est visible sur le flanc le long de l'undercut.

 Cette découpe dans le bas des pontons souligne l'inclinaison prononcée et l'effet de downwash de ces derniers. L'objectif est de pousser les flux d'air vers l'extérieur afin de repousser le sillage des pneus avant (plein de turbulences) vers l'extérieur.

L'entrée d'air des pontons reste assez conventionnelle, et évoluera sans doute au cours de la saison. L'aileron de requin ("shark fin") est cranté sur le capot moteur comme sur la Ferrari SF-26, mais avec un espacement plus important entre chaque encoche. Cette découpe permet de générer un vortex et de stabiliser les flux aérodynamiques.

Étonnamment, la MCL40 ne semble pas comporter de découpe dans le diffuseur, contrairement à la Red Bull RB22, la Mercedes W17, la Ferrari SF-26 et la Haas. En revanche, le "mouse hole" (trou de souris) est traité de façon originale. Cette petite ouverture joue un rôle subtil dans la gestion des flux sous la voiture : elle agit comme une soupape, laissant s'échapper un filet d'air pour stabiliser le flux et maintenir l'efficacité du diffuseur.



Des essais en demi-teinte

Sur l'image ci-dessus, on constate bien l'absence d'ouverture dans le diffuseur (qui est présente sur la Mercedes et signalée par la flèche bleue). Les différents composants du diffuseur sont bien visibles :

En blanc : la paroi latérale du diffuseur destinée à protéger le diffuseur des turbulences causées par la rotation des roues. Dans cette nouvelle réglementation technique, les diffuseurs sont beaucoup plus petits qu'auparavant, et les parois latérales ne descendent plus aussi près de l'asphalte.

En rouge : l'ailette fixée au diffuseur. La cascade d'ailettes générant un écoulement ascendant qui étaient montée sur l'écope de frein est désormais fixée sur le côté du diffuseur.

En jaune : le déflecteur arrière. Il s'agit d'une pièce standard, qui crée une barrière anti-intrusion face aux turbulences des pneus.

On note aussi le retour des dérives à l'intérieur du diffuseur, signalées en vert.



Si la MCL40 a montré un potentiel évident, le programme hivernal de McLaren à Barcelone n'a pas été totalement linéaire. Des soucis mineurs mais chronophages sur le système de carburant ont limité le roulage en début de semaine.

Avec 283 tours couverts au total, McLaren termine néanmoins loin du volume engrangé par Mercedes (500 tours) et Ferrari (439), et même en retrait par rapport à Red Bull (303). Un déficit de données qui ne remet pas en cause la qualité du concept, mais qui renforce l'ampleur du défi : transformer une voiture déjà très aboutie en référence durable, avec moins d'informations que ses principaux rivaux.

Chargée de succéder à la McLaren championne du monde, la monture de Lando Norris et Oscar Piastri a demandé des efforts de conception considérables, sans précédent pour Andrea Stella, le team principal très impliqué dans les choix techniques de son équipe.

"Il y a eu un travail colossal derrière la conception, la concrétisation et la construction de la voiture, à un niveau qui, de mémoire, est presque sans précédent, car jamais auparavant il n'y avait eu un changement aussi massif et simultané du châssis, du moteur et des pneus."

"Le travail mené chez McLaren au cours des vingt derniers mois a probablement représenté le plus vaste travail de conception — ou, plus largement, de gestion d'un nouveau projet de voiture — auquel j'aie jamais participé."

Rares sont les équipes capables de rester au sommet lors d'un bouleversement réglementaire majeur (l'exception étant Red Bull entre 2021 et 2022). La tâche qui attend McLaren avec sa MCL40 n'en apparaît que plus immense.

https://f1i.autojournal.fr/magazine/magazine-technique/la-mclaren-mcl40-a-la-loupe/

[GoVal]

 



Fórmula Directa @FormulaDirecta · 1min

⛵️ El circuito de Miami colocará un yate sobre su mar de plástico para el Gran Premio de 2026

El superyate de lujo contará con 4 plantas, 80,5 metros de largo, 29,3 metros de ancho y alcanzará los 15,2 metros de altura.

[McHouserphy]

Fórmula Directa @FormulaDirecta · 1min

⛵️ El circuito de Miami colocará un yate sobre su mar de plástico para el Gran Premio de 2026

El superyate de lujo contará con 4 plantas, 80,5 metros de largo, 29,3 metros de ancho y alcanzará los 15,2 metros de altura.

A la increíble velocidad de crucero de... Cero millas por hora (que son americanos)
Espero que las cañerías de "aguas residuales" les queden mejor que a su super portaviones del universo que tienen , el USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) , 14000 millones $ , y se les llena de     (a cagar por la borda)  

[LaraCroft]

[GoVal]

Al lado del de Piastri, el coche de Häkkinen parece un micromachine  .

Una pena que no volvamos a unos coches más pequeños y manejables como los de antes.

[McHouserphy]

Como vídeo... ... nosta mal , pero... Ya!, IA, ia, ia...   

Si Pillastri llegase a provocar el "desguace" del McLaren de Mika  ... le fusilan al amanecer y sin consejo de guerra!     

así que, se ve lo que le han dicho que tiene que poner   ... y no me extrañaría nada que el coche de Piastri esté sustituyendo a otro que estaba originalmente en la filmación    , por lo que, de comparativa...  ... poco.

Pero si, esta bonita.     

[llumia]

Dos reuniones importantes esta semana para evitar una guerra "motorística":

https://f1i.autojournal.fr/infos/polemique-infos/guerre-des-moteurs-en-f1-la-fia-face-a-la-derniere-chance-deviter-une-crise-des-melbourne/

[llumia]

What we've learned about what 2026 F1 cars are actually like

We have been fed both scare stories and unbridled optimism about Formula 1's 2026 rules revolution for months now.

But with the first pre-season test now in the bag, we have finally been able to get some proper insights from the drivers about how the cars really behave.

Here are 10 fascinating things we've been told about F1's new generation of cars - some of which you may like, and some of which you probably will not.

Lift and coast could happen in qualifying

It is widely accepted that F1's super-powerful 2026 cars are going to be energy-starved, because they cannot charge the batteries as much as needed to go flat-out all the time.

But while many thought this would be a race-only problem, it has emerged that this could be a headache in qualifying too - which means the fight for pole could involve some lift-and-coast tactics.

According to Esteban Ocon, early qualifying simulation laps at the Barcelona shakedown showed that the fastest laptime was delivered if drivers backed off on corner entry.

It is all a consequence of needing to harvest as much battery power as possible.

"If you stay full throttle, you are basically putting the handbrake at the end of the straight," said Ocon. "If you lift and coast, it's not that much. So you feel quicker if you lift off."

Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli said that lifting and coasting in qualifying, where drivers are normally on the limit, would take some getting used to.

"It is a bit more unnatural to do, because obviously in qualifying you just think to go as fast as possible," he said.

"It's something that we will have to learn, especially because the battery is so sensitive to the driving style as well."

Following in corners may be more difficult...

The overhaul of the chassis rules for 2026 was fuelled by two clear motives: to help reduce drag to better suit the new power units, and to improve the ability of cars to follow each other to help the racing.

That second step prompted the move away from full-on ground effect machinery, and a lot of work has gone into eradicating the dirty air problems that eventually marred the old ruleset.

But first impressions from Barcelona suggest that these new cars may not be any better at racing in another's wheel tracks. In fact, they could be worse.

Haas driver Ollie Bearman said: "It was a bit more challenging to follow. It picked up quite a big shift in balance compared to clean air, which seemed a bit more so than the previous generation of cars."

Team-mate Ocon said: "You seem to lose quite a lot of front load, a bit more maybe than before."

However, not all drivers felt that things were worse than last year, with Mercedes' George Russell sensing an improvement.

"Following definitely does seem easier, especially in the high-speed corners," he said. "It's firstly because you have less downforce, and you're going through the corners slower, so there is naturally less wake."

...but closing speeds on straights are huge

Even if the corners are a problem, early evidence of differences of car speeds on straights suggest that passing there could be more frequent.

Having watched the cars trackside, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: "George passed [Franco] Colapinto while Colapinto was doing his long runs – and it was a 50km/h straightline difference. That is super exciting. We are going to see much more overtaking."

But a 50km/h speed differential between cars does not come without risk - and Russell suggested it may become an issue in some instances.

"There are going to be some examples of major closing speeds," he said.

"I don't think that'll be a problem in dry conditions, but it would be a problem in low-visibility races. However, if there's low visibility, that obviously means it's wet. And if you're driving in the wet...because you're going around the corner so much slower and the braking distances are longer, you're reharvesting much more and you're spending much less energy."

Active aero is a missed opportunity

One of the most visible differences to the cars this year is active aero, with both the front and rear wings having different modes depending on whether a car is on a straight or in a corner.

But while the impression from the outside is that the use of active aero looks spectacular, the early feedback from the cockpit is that the tool is not as powerful as some hoped.

Ocon said he felt a bit disappointed that the end product had just basically added a front DRS over what they had before.

"It's more of an efficiency thing than really something that's giving us more tools to play with and stuff like that," he said.

"I would have preferred if we could set the front flap as we want for every corner, before we were driving. That's what I call active aero.

"The Pagani Huayra [road car] some years ago, that car had active aero on the front and it was setting it up for whatever corners you were taking and what you were needing in terms of balance."

Electric hit on straights feels 'brutal'

If there is one thing that became obvious from watching the cars at the Barcelona shakedown it was that they are pretty punchy coming out of the corners.

That is not just the result of the roughly 700kW, the equivalent of 1000bhp, on tap from the power unit. It is more that half of that power comes from the battery, so has loads of torque.

As Antonelli said: "We have got a lot more power from the electrical engine. The acceleration is quite brutal."

Ocon reckoned that drivers were hitting 350km/h on the run down to Barcelona's first corner, with the acceleration just keeping on coming.

"I never thought I would get to 350km/h that fast," he said. "We had an inconsistent deployment in one of the runs that we did and I had full deployment into the straight and I arrived at 355km/h in Turn 1 in Barcelona!

"The braking was very different to the laps before, but the way it climbs and the way you feel the speed climbing, it's something insane. Honestly, it's something I've never felt in Formula 1 or that I've never felt in any cars driving prior to that."

Cars feel lighter and more nimble

The reduction of the size and weight of the 2026 F1 cars might sound minor, but the drivers can already feel the difference it makes.

The wheelbase is shortened by 200mm and the width is down 100mm compared to last year's cars, while the minimum weight has dropped by around 30kg from the hefty 800kg of 2025.

"The best aspect is the car is a bit lighter, so in some places it feels a little bit more nimble," said Bearman. "And you still have an incredible amount of downforce."

Team-mate Ocon described the cars as feeling "more like the 2020s era, where it was less snappy and a bit more comfortable at high speed". In particular, he felt the difference in the sharpness of the change of direction.

"You definitely feel the weight reduction," he explained. "You feel how [noticeably] smaller the cars are as well.

"There isn't so much direction change, [there is] in Turn 1 and 2 but Barcelona had quite cold weather so the tyres are never feeling good. But Turns 10, 11, 12 you really feel when you change direction that it is pretty good on that side of things."

Antonelli felt the same thing, particularly when it came to turn-in and directional change.

"You feel the 30kg less and obviously the car being a bit smaller," said Antonelli. "You just feel it is more agile, especially in changes of direction and in slow-speed corners, which is a nice feeling."

Tyre degradation could be massive

Given the prodigious power of these cars in the corner-exit phase, drivers found they had to be wary on the throttle at Barcelona.

And when you consider that tyres are 25mm narrower at the front and 30mm narrower at the rear, to make a drag-reduction contribution, it poses a bigger tyre-management challenge than last year.

"Smaller tyres, more power, degradation might be higher, especially for the rear tyres," warned Antonelli. "It might be more difficult to handle with the amount of power we get out of the corners."

Ocon found the same thing, adding "we need to be very careful not to kill the tyres completely", pointing to the cars having "less grip than we had in the last couple of years".

It's not all about the power unit

While the new power units - with the notional 50/50 power split between the internal combustion engine and the MGU-K - mean that energy harvesting, deployment and management are critical this year, these cars still take some driving.

Russell admitted that was a concern before he drove the Mercedes W17 in the real world, but fears were allayed by his experience of the real car.

"That was a question mark that I had going into the test, whether it would be like Formula E, [and] you need an engineer to drive the car rather than a racing driver," said Russell. "But it felt much more intuitive to drive than expected."

This means there's still scope for the driver to have an impact beyond simply acing the intellectual challenge of energy management.

This is especially true as technique has an impact on how much energy you can harvest in a lap up to the baseline maximum of 8.5MJ.

"It's still a race car," said Ocon. "I was expecting that we would have to work so much on the hybrid power and try to get everything correct, which is the case for sure.

"You need to get everything correct, otherwise the laptime is not there at all. But we are still adapting the balance of the car, working on tyre prep, all of this. It's still a very big part of that.

"I was a bit afraid that we would not touch the car for the whole year and we would only touch the engine side and the electronics. It's been actually all right."

Drivers are no longer being battered

The new regulations reduced the reliance on ground effect underfloors, and as expected the elimination of the venturi tunnels means these cars no longer run as low as possible and super-stiff.

That means there's no problems with porpoising or mechanical bouncing, much to the delight of the Mercedes drivers.

"My back is having an easier time of things," said Russell.

Team-mate Antonelli suggested this means more flexibility when it comes to ride heights in cars that are now running rake, whereby the rear ride height is higher than the front.

This increases the angle of attack of aero surfaces and potentially means more downforce.

"We don't have bouncing anymore," explained Antonelli. "You have a bit more room as well to play with ride heights.

"Last year was all about putting it as low as possible without making it bounce, this year you can play a bit more with ride heights depending on the balance you have on the car."

But it is still F1

The cars may have changed dramatically, with the energy-management demands far beyond anything drivers have experienced before, but these are still stunningly fast cars in the finest tradition of grand prix machinery.

Asked by The Race whether these still felt like F1 cars, in the wake of concerns such as lifting and coasting in qualifying, Ocon said: "I think it is, because it's still the fastest cars in the world.

"We have to optimise as drivers the tools we have to go as fast as we can. It's still enjoyable to drive and still an F1 car."

Russell shared that view, underlining that F1 cars have always changed and evolved, with the demands on the drivers shifting while retaining the underlying challenge.

"It definitely still is Formula 1," said Russell. "It still very much feels like a race car, and you're still very much pushing the limits. But you are driving it differently.

"If you look back to the late '80s and '90s and you look at Ayrton Senna's driving style, where he's blipping the throttle through the apexes to spin the turbo, that's also a unique way of driving.

"And also in the same way as when you went from a gearstick to paddles on the back of your steering wheel. It's just different and it changes."

The cars will also evolve rapidly, with the power unit performance and the grip levels set to rise relentlessly as this ruleset matures.

The consensus from the drivers so far is therefore that the worst fears from last year, when early simulator models drew so much criticism, have not been realised and that these are still cars they must push and race to the limit.

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what-f1-2026-cars-are-actually-like-10-revelations/

[GoVal]

Así ha ido pillando kilillos los F1. Este año se ha puesto a régimen.

[GoVal]

SoyMotor.com @SoyMotor · 9h

🤔 ¿Por qué Aston Martin luchó contra el crono para llegar a Barcelona?

➡️ Adrian Newey lo explica: "El túnel de viento no estuvo a punto hasta abril y yo llegué al equipo en marzo, así que, la verdad, hemos empezado con retraso. Han sido 10 meses muy apretados y extremadamente ajetreados".

🗣� "No pudimos introducir una maqueta del coche de 2026 en el túnel de viento hasta mediados de abril", apunta.

➡️ Debido a todo esto, el coche se terminó de construir "en el último minuto" y pudieron empezar a rodar en Barcelona el jueves por la tarde.

[llumia]

Entrevista interesante a A. Newey:

- Llevan 4 meses de retraso.
- Auto con gran margen de desarrollo.
- Auto fácil de pilotar.

UNDERCUT | Adrian Newey wants you to keep an open mind

From the moment the AMR26 broke cover, everyone has been asking what Adrian Newey and the team have been cooking. Formula One's pre-eminent designer puts down his self-propelling pencil to discuss a busy 10 months for Aston Martin Aramco, the philosophy behind our 2026 F1 car, and why Team Principal is just a title.

Give the people what they want.


When the AMR26 departed Birmingham Airport for Girona on 28 January, it was the second-most tracked flight in the world.

Aston Martin Aramco mechanics worked through the night at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to prepare the car for its track debut, and when it finally broke cover in the final hour of the penultimate day of the Barcelona Shakedown, it caught everyone's attention.

The question on everyone's lips since: "What has Adrian Newey been cooking?"

In our latest UNDERCUT interview, we asked him.

Adrian, the AMR26 has finally broken cover – and it's got everyone talking. How did you determine what design philosophy to take?

"We took a really close look at the regulations and what we believe we want to achieve from a flow field perspective to suit them, and from there started to evolve a geometry that attempts to create the flow fields that we want. It's very much a holistic approach...

"...but, in truth, with a completely new set of regulations, nobody is ever sure what the right philosophy is."

Even you? The sport's greatest designer?

"[Laughs.] Even me. We certainly aren't sure what the best interpretation of the regulations is and therefore the best philosophy to follow.

"Because of our compressed timescale, we decided on a particular direction and that's the one we've pursued. Whether that proves to be the right one or not, only time will tell. But you have to choose your path and get on with it."

So is it an aggressive interpretation of the rules?

"I never look at any of my designs as aggressive. I just get on with things and pursue what we feel is the right direction.

"The direction we've taken could certainly be interpreted as aggressive. It's got quite a few features that haven't necessarily been done before. Does that make it aggressive? Possibly. Possibly not."


What areas of the car are you most satisfied with?

"That is a question I'm often asked. I honestly don't have a favourite, 'Look at that bit, Mum,' part of the car. To me, the design of a car is about the holistic package. There's no one individual part that's likely to make the difference. It's how all those parts come together. It's how they talk to each other to create a car that works in harmony with the driver and performs aerodynamically, mechanically, and in terms of vehicle dynamics."

So the standout is there is no standout?

"Yes." [The faintest grin tries to break out on Adrian's face.]

Can you break the design approach down a bit more?

"It starts with the overall packaging of the car: where is the car carried over the wheelbase, where are the main masses carried. Then it's worked through to the front and rear suspension – the front and rear suspension both have their own very important part to play in that manipulation of the flow field. You've got the front wing and the nose shape, which are somewhat different this year. You keep moving through to the sidepods, and the treatment around the rear of the car, which is certainly different to what we've done previously.

"Now, whether other people come up with a similar solution to ours, we don't know and we won't until we start seeing other people's cars. We've just tried to pursue what we think is the correct direction for us. Other people might have pursued other directions. It's part of the excitement of new regulations, seeing what everybody comes up with."

When you say the treatment around the rear of the car is different to what we've done previously, you're talking about how tightly packaged it is – a trait of many Newey-designed F1 cars?

"Yes. The car is tightly packaged. Much more tightly packaged than I believe has been attempted at Aston Martin Aramco before. [Adrian can't hide the grin this time.]

"This has required a very close working relationship with the mechanical designers to achieve the aerodynamic shapes we wanted. But I have to say that all the mechanical designers here have really embraced that philosophy. It hasn't made their life easy, quite the opposite, but they've really risen to the challenge."

I never look at any of my designs as aggressive. I just pursue what we feel is the right direction. The AMR26 has quite a few features that haven't necessarily been done before.

Is the scale of that challenge and the direction you've taken with the design of the car the reason why the AMR26 only ran on the final two days of the Barcelona Shakedown?

"2026 is probably the first time in the history of F1 that the power unit regulations and chassis regulations have changed at the same time. It's a completely new set of rules, which is a big challenge for all the teams, but perhaps more so for us.

"The AMR Technology Campus is still evolving, the CoreWeave Wind Tunnel wasn't on song until April, and I only joined the team last March, so we've started from behind, in truth. It's been a very compressed timescale and an extremely busy 10 months.

"The reality is that we didn't get a model of the '26 car into the wind tunnel until mid-April, whereas most, if not all of our rivals would have had a model in the wind tunnel from the moment the 2026 aero testing ban ended at the beginning of January last year. That put us on the back foot by about four months, which has meant a very, very compressed research and design cycle. The car only came together at the last minute, which is why we were fighting to make it to the Barcelona Shakedown."

Were you nervous

"Whenever a car is about hit the track for the first time, it's always a nervous moment.

"The team put in a huge amount of work to get the car ready. There's more to come – and lots to learn – but those first couple of days at the track have been important to start building an understanding of how the car behaves and complete those all-important first systems checks before pre-season testing in Bahrain."

Will the car be competitive straight out of the box come the season opener in Melbourne?

"We've attempted to build something that we hope will have quite a lot of development potential.

"What you want to try to avoid is a car that comes out quite optimised within its window but lacks a lot of development potential. We've tried to do the opposite, which is why we've really focused on the fundamentals, put our effort into those, knowing that some of the appendages – wings, bodywork, things that can be changed in season – will hopefully have development potential."

You're famous for your ability to interpret driver feedback and turn it into developments or lap-time. Will that be easier or harder with this generation of cars?

"The previous generation of ground effect cars from 2022 to 2025 became quite difficult to drive. The Aston Martin, unfortunately, was one particular example of that.

"With this new formula, we're trying to make a car that Lance and Fernando can consistently extract a good level of performance from."


This is your first car as a Team Principal. Does that change your mindset?

"I became a Team Principal towards the end of last year. In many ways, to me, it's simply a title. The role within the team is to try to provide a direction, an ethos, a culture, that we all work by. I try to lead by example, where possible. But really, it's about developing everybody; we're trying to develop at all levels so that we're working well together, which then means we'll get the best out of each other."

And is that working?

"I'll tell you later. [Laughs.] Ask me that question again at the end of the year."

On the subject of working well together, this is a huge year for some of our partners. Arguably, none more so than our Title Partner, Aramco.

"One of the key aspects of this year's regulations is the new power units, and with that comes the move to using fully sustainable fuel for the first time in Formula One. Aramco are absolutely pivotal for us here because of how they develop fuel, as are Valvoline, which is developing the oil, to suit the work Honda is doing and are a big part of a very complicated, but very important, equation.

"Without having a technical partner and fuel supplier with Aramco's expertise, Honda's development of the power unit would be restricted and that, in turn, would restrict us. The work Aramco are doing is going to stand us in very good stead."

Aramco are absolutely all-in on this project, aren't they?

"Becoming a technical supplier of ours has been a big change for Aramco."

How so?

"They've had to reorganise. They've had to expand their facilities in certain areas to suit what is a very specific challenge: developing a fuel for a Formula One team. They are already experienced in this area as supplier low-carbon fuels to other formulas, such as F2, F3 and F1 ACADEMY, but of course, Formula One being what it is, we want to take their knowledge and expertise much further. They are developing very specific fuels to suit the Honda engine and our needs."

Does the same apply to Valvoline in terms of the lubricants they're developing for us?

"It's a similar story with the engine oil. Efficiency is one of the big drives of this new formula and is a real source of performance, efficiency from the fuel, and also the lubricants."

They've been involved in motorsport for more than a hundred years. It's a cool brand to be working with, right?

"They're a legendary supplier within motorsport and have a long history of excellent products. The chance to work with them exclusively on this new formula is really satisfying."

Are they hooking you up with a few bottles of oil for your cars at home?

"[Laughs.] Not yet!"

The design of a car is about the holistic package. There's no one individual part that's likely to make the difference. It's how all those parts come together.

You touched on the topic of sustainable fuel a moment ago. What's your take on it as an energy solution and the role F1 can play in accelerating its development and wider application?

"Sustainable fuel is a huge energy solution for the future in terms of achieving carbon neutrality. It's really exciting that Formula One is embracing that, and it's a real opportunity for Aramco to leverage their global footprint of world-leading R&D centres and showcase its technology and innovation in this space."

So are sustainable fuels the answer?

"At the moment, synthetic fuels are still significantly more expensive than fossil-based fuels. That will change with time; production techniques will get better and better. It's a hugely growing area that can help us achieve the carbon neutrality that we all believe, of course, is absolutely vital for the future ecology of the Earth."

Not a fan of electric cars then?

"Everyone talks about electric cars and so forth, but the reality is there is no singular technology that will be the solution. It won't just be electric. It won't just be synthetic. Hydrogen may be involved. Biodegradable fuels will be involved. Synthetic will be a very important part of the solution, as will all the others."


You mentioned that work on the AMR26 in the team's new wind tunnel, now dubbed the CoreWeave Wind Tunnel, really only got going in April. You've seen a few wind tunnels in your time. How good actually is it?

"The CoreWeave Wind Tunnel is absolutely state-of-the-art. I would say it's probably the best wind tunnel in the world for Formula One application. It's very sophisticated, built entirely to our specification, with CoreWeave expertise woven into that. It's set to be a game-changer for us.

"Aerodynamics is the biggest single performance differentiator in Formula One. Our principal research tool for that is the wind tunnel. It's absolutely invaluable, and we are now reaping the rewards from it."

This isn't just a badge on a wind tunnel, is it? How is CoreWeave's tech used in it?

"Part of it is helping us with the operation of the tunnel. Part of it is helping with measurement, for instance, PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry), which is a way of visualising airflow by seeding particles in the air and then putting a laser across it to measure flow properties. It requires a very complicated post-analysis. Having CoreWeave's compute power and cutting-edge AI software woven into the tunnel enhances our ability to analyse that flow, manipulate it and then match it to other tools such as CFD."

The car that races in Melbourne is going to be very different to the one people saw at the Barcelona Shakedown.
AI seems to come up in almost every conversation these days. What's your take on it? Machine learning and AI have been used in Formula One for a while now.

"Machine learning has been around for a long time. It's been superseded, if you like, as a buzzword by AI – everyone knows what AI is now. In truth, the AI that most people are using day to day is mainly just internet search-based and it's pattern recognition."

Do you use ChatGPT?

"[Laughs.] What we are using machine learning, or AI, for is much more specific tasks and therefore how we use that AI is incredibly tailored. We're typically not using anything off the internet because we are too specialised for that, but there are instances of using pattern recognition to help with relatively simple tasks and even race strategy through simulation and game theory."

So what are these 'specific tasks' the team is using AI for? And in what ways is AI going to be used in the future?

"There are more advanced applications... which I'd rather not talk about at the moment.

"The thing about things like compute power, data processing, artificial intelligence, is it's all advancing so rapidly. What's new now will be pretty much out of date in 12 months. It's obviously incredibly exciting for us, and it's up to us to work with our partners to keep up with that because the opportunities it creates are absolutely immense. It's almost as if we have to keep reopening our minds to what's available, not on a daily basis, but certainly on a six-month basis, to take the most advantage as things evolve."

You get the feeling that might be a broader theme for this season: keeping minds open to what's available to take the most advantage as things evolve.

"Very much so. The AMR26 that races in Melbourne is going to be very different to the one people saw at the Barcelona Shakedown, and the AMR26 that we finish the season with in Abu Dhabi is going to be very different to the one that we start the season with.

"It's very important to keep an open mind."

https://www.astonmartinf1.com/en-GB/news/feature/undercut-adrian-newey-wants-you-to-keep-an-open-mind?ref=the-race.com

[llumia]

The 'scary' new element to qualifying in F1 2026

It's been known for a while that Formula 1's 2026 cars are going to be energy-starved, which means harvesting and deploying battery power will be critical to laptime.

Initially this seemed to be relevant to races, but first impressions of the cars at the recent Barcelona test have exposed an element that one team boss has called "scary".

It is that the available energy is on such a knife-edge that even qualifying efforts will be destroyed in 2026 if drivers get things wrong on their outlaps.

Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu has revealed how the fight for pole could be influenced heavily by small errors made in preparation laps.

He reckons that any trip up on this front will not just cost a little bit – it could see a driver lose around half a second per lap.

From Komatsu's perspective, this could become a major factor in dictating grids early on in the campaign.

"There is more vulnerability at the start of the season," he said. "I think if something goes wrong, I think it will be pretty obvious.

"If somebody is not deploying correctly, let's say opening a qualifying lap on the pit straight, or going into Turn 1, if somebody is not going very quickly, then you will realise straight away they didn't do it correctly. So I think it will be very visible, especially early on."

He added: "We're not talking about tenths. You can lose half a second, six tenths, seventh tenths very, very easily. That's the scary bit."

Outlap conflicts
What Komatsu is referring to is that, with cars not having enough battery to run laps flat out, drivers can't waste any energy on the outlap at all.

That means not triggering any more usage of the battery element of the package than is absolutely necessary.

But that is a very tricky thing to achieve properly – because drivers cannot just drive slowly to achieve that aim. The demands to warm the tyres, avoid traffic issues and keep up to the maximum delta time mean there is a requirement to get a hurry on as well.

Furthermore, there is no scope in the regulations to simply run a quick outlap on the internal combustion engine alone, as there are strict rules regarding power demand.

Article 5.12.1 of the Technical Regulations states: "At any given engine speed, the driver torque demand map must be monotonically increasing for an increase in accelerator pedal position."

This effectively means that the trigger for kicking in battery usage is throttle position - not a button on the wheel.

So in effect, the only way to avoid burning up any battery is to be very cautious on the accelerator.

There are therefore a host of conflicting demands of what drivers need to do to cover off tyre preparation, traffic, timing deltas and energy.

And the end result is a massive headache in how to get things nailed perfectly.

Komatsu said that Barcelona offered a first clue about how complicated things were when his team tried some qualifying simulations.

Haas quickly found out that how cars were driven in the final sector on a preparation lap ultimately decided how quick the subsequent qualifying effort would be.

"It's very, very important how you go through those last couple of corners," he said.

"If you don't carry enough speed out of, let's say, Turn 14 in Barcelona, by the time you come to the start/finish line, you don't have enough speed. So your qualifying lap is already ruined.

"But if you try to get the speed up, but then have too much throttle, you are deploying towards the end of the outlap, so you just waste the battery on the timed lap.

"There's a very clear conflict of demand about what a driver needs to achieve, and the system needs to achieve. So you have got to get it right."

Things could get even trickier at places like Baku, where there is the city section where you don't want to burn battery power, but also a very long straight before the start/finish line where you'll need battery to deploy.

"In the castle section, there's no point deploying electrical energy in between corners," added Komatsu. "That's going to do nothing in terms of straightline speed.

"But if you accidentally do that, go on the throttle a little bit too much, and then deploy MGU-K, or use MGU-K to basically engage turbo, then by the time you go to the main straight, you haven't got the necessary electric energy available. Then you pay a big price."

Komatsu believes that all teams face an uphill challenge to try to get on top of the situation as quickly as possible.

And that will be made even more challenging by the fact that preparations will be done in the tests in Bahrain – run on a Sakhir track with some good heavy braking zones that will allow for straightforward charging of the battery.

However, the season starts in Australia, with the Albert Park track one of the more challenging venues to harvest.

"Even if you get to the stage where you are very confident in Bahrain with consistency, then you go to Melbourne and it is a completely different condition," warned Komatsu.

"That's going to be a huge challenge. So I think it's going to be a steep learning curve for most of us."

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/scary-new-element-to-qualifying-in-f1-2026/

[llumia]

Primera imagen de la Williams FW48:

[llumia]

What we've learned about F1 2026 driving styles so far

Oscar Piastri calls it "rewiring your brain"; Kimi Antonelli says "you have to be really-open minded"; Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu describes it as "counter-intuitive".

These are all references to the driving technique challenge of the new 2026 Formula 1 cars based on what was learned in last week's Barcelona test, underlining the extent to which those in the cockpit must adapt to get the best out of these cars.

The energy-management demands of the 2026 F1 cars are enormous.

With effectively a 4MJ battery powering a 350kW (469bhp) electric motor providing a little under 50% of the overall power of the cars, you need significant harvesting and discharging to lap quickly.

That will have a profound impact on what those behind the wheel do, but according to Mercedes driver George Russell, not to the extent where those requirements are overwhelming.

"That was a question mark that I had going into the test, whether it would be like Formula E [where] it's like you need an engineer to drive the car rather than a racing driver," said Russell when asked by The Race whether the energy-management imperatives of the 2026 cars overpower more traditional driving skills.

"It felt much more intuitive to drive than expected.

"Now, we have a few additional quirks, but you still have to brake as late as possible, carry as much speed through the corners. The faster driver will be the one who still comes out on top. I don't think it will be an engineering race from the cockpit."

The devil is in the detail. Small differences in braking technique, the way you approach corner-entry to achieve the required rotation, how you overlap throttle and brake and countless other factors all have an influence.

But as Haas driver Ollie Bearman explains, the fundamental feeling of the car and the driving style doesn't seem too different compared to last year.

"The first sensation is the lack of downforce compared to what we've been used to, particularly in the medium and the low speed [corners]," said Bearman.

"The high speed is what you expect. You have less load, but your braking zones are slightly longer, your combined traction is a bit more challenging just because you have even a bit more power in that phase and less load on the car, so less mechanical grip with smaller tyres.

"It's definitely a bit different. I didn't find the driving style to be too dissimilar. It just was more similar to your Monzas and your Mexicos where you have a bit less downforce.

"It's still very fun to drive. Even if the car's moving around a bit more, that's not necessarily a bad thing."

The driver's domain is the corner, as it's here that they can express their craft and gain laptime. However, the unusual characteristics of these power units means that the approach to the corner can start earlier than it once did owing to the need to maximise harvesting.

"At times it can," said Lando Norris when asked about drivers downshifting early towards the end of straights.

"The biggest challenge at the minute is battery management and knowing how to utilise that in the best way. You can explain it in quite simple terms: you have a very powerful battery that doesn't last very long so knowing how to use it in the right times, how much energy, how much of that power you use, how to split it up around the lap, and how you can recover the batteries as well as possible.

"And that's when it comes down to using the gears, hitting the right revs."

This is complicated further by the fact that different deployment strategies can vary the straightline performance from lap to lap.

As Norris points out, "If you suddenly have a bit more power you can end up going into a corner 5, 6, 7km/h quicker all of a sudden without potentially knowing why."

That then leads into a slightly longer, but still short, braking zone thanks to the reduction in downforce even once the car switches from straightline mode to corner mode.

The downshifts are also complicated by sometimes having to go to a lower gear than would have been the case last year.

The aggression of the downshifts could also change in terms of what revs the change is being made at because this can help increase the energy harvested.

There were occasions under the old regulations when Alpine, struggling with a relatively weaker charging capability in its Renault engine, would have slightly more savage gearchanges as a result.

This can have a dynamic impact on the turn-in of the car.

Then, while you want to maximise the speed carried through and out of the corner, there's also the question of ensuring you do that in an energy efficient way in terms of both what you are spending, and what you are harvesting. That includes being cautious on the throttle in slow sections given a certain level of pedal demand will mean the MGU-K kicks in when you don't want to be using battery energy.

"It's definitely challenging for the drivers and you have instances where, when you go around the corners faster, you're spending more energy and you're harvesting less, so you end up over the course of the lap having less energy to spend," said Russell.

"You may gain a few tenths in the corners, but you may lose a couple of tenths in the straight. So that takes a little bit of time just to get your head around it.

"However, once you do get your head around it, that would just be the normal way of driving. All the teams are having to use quite low gears through the corners, to maximise the harvesting, all of which we had question marks around. But it just feels like a race car."

Among all of this, the driver must keep in mind what Russell calls "the small techniques that will gain you a couple of percent of energy re-harvesting".

This could potentially be huge. If you can modify your technique to optimise that while still being quick through the corner, that will pay you back later in the lap.

The drivers who master this will likely be the most effective, but it cannot fail to have an impact on the car dynamically when on the limit and, as the struggle of Lewis Hamilton to adapt to the cars in the ground effect era shows, the requirements of car and driver might not always align.

"There's lots of counter-intuitive things everywhere in this regulation," said Komatsu, who had a long history as a race engineer before moving up the team leadership ladder, when asked by The Race about the driving style demands.

"From a pure driving perspective, lift and coasting potential in qualifying, and then gear usage and on throttle, etc.

"There's lots of conflicting objectives the driver needs to achieve. But I'm sure over time, we engineers will be able to design and hone both hardware and software so that drivers are able to do something much more intuitive to get performance out of it.

"It's the very, very early stages of the regulation. That's why there's lots of this contradiction and counter-intuitive things happening. It's a lot more hard work. They need to sometimes think differently.

"But then, there's a trade-off. Let's say certain things a driver has to do to maximise recovery makes the car very difficult to drive. Where's the right balance?

"Maybe you have to give the driver a more driveable car and accept that you're not going to be deploying as much energy down the straight? That is a very difficult optimisation problem to solve."

Then when it comes to getting the power down off the corner, there's the twin challenge of ideally needing to have the turbo spinning at a decent enough rate to minimise lag and avoid having to use too much electrical energy to compensate for any missing V6 power, and not overstress the tyres.

"We need to be very careful to not kill the tyres completely, because it's so much more than it was before," said Ocon.

"At the moment, we have less grip than we had in the last couple of years. The car itself is quite nice to drive because it slides a bit more. It's a bit more like the 2020s era, where it was a bit less snappy and a bit more comfortable at high speed. On that side of things, it was quite nice to drive."

And all that must be done in a race while using tools such as the boost button or, when available, overtake mode to battle with other cars.

Setting aside the energy-management requirements, there's also the question of whether the move away from low-slung, ultra-stiff venturi tunnel cars will allow a wider range of set-ups and not force the drivers into a narrow driving style window. According to Bearman, there's an improvement on this score but how big an impact this will have is not yet clear.

"With this generation, we're a bit unsure," said Bearman when asked by The Race.

"We think as the regs mature a little, we're going to hopefully get a bit more flexibility and freedom with ride heights, but at the moment we don't have a crazy freedom like prior to the '22 regs, we're not anywhere near back at those levels. It's not like we're [at] those crazy rear ride heights as before.

"So we're certainly softer just by virtue of the fact of the SM [straightline mode] meaning you have flexibility to run the car a bit softer [as you are] not limited by ride height at the end of the straight, so that's a nice thing.

"But physics will tell you that the car is fastest at X ride height, [so] we run it at X ride height, our preference doesn't really matter.

"I believe at this stage, there's not really much flexibility to express yourself with set-up and things like that. Maybe as time goes on and maybe the more performant cars will be the ones that can produce load over a wider range of ride height. At this early stage it's not quite the case."

With the caveat that there hasn't yet been the opportunity to observe these cars from trackside to understand more about the driving styles being used, it does at least appear that it's not simply an energy-management exercise.

Efficiency has always been part of the competitive equation for the person behind the wheel and there's an artistry to being able to do so while driving these incredibly fast cars to the limit.

However, it's still early days.

There are legitimate question marks about whether the compromises forced by the need to harvest so much energy over a lap to be quick will be so large a part of the laptime equation that it neuters the best drivers in the world. But based on first impressions, F1 is far from that nightmare scenario.

https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/what-weve-learned-about-f1-2026-driving-styles-so-far/