This Formula 1 season brings a lot of change. It can be a little bewildering trying to keep an eye on the important rules and regulations.
A field of brand-new cars emerges, there are a set of new regulations and some all-new jargon to go with it. It’s doubly tricky this year, with a full-on, ground-up reboot of the Championship featuring new engines, new aerodynamics and different ways of putting together a racing lap.
The 2026 Power Units: Hybrid and Electrical Focus
The big ticket for 2026 is a new generation of power units that place more emphasis on the electrical side of the hybrid system. About half the power used by the car is going to be electrical, and half from internal combustion, with the power unit also using Advanced Sustainable Fuels.
This makes the power units more road relevant – and thus more attractive to existing manufacturers Ferrari and Mercedes, newcomers Red Bull Powertrains in partnership with Ford, General Motors (from 2029) and Audi, plus returning suppliers Honda.
Regarding the electrical system, there is a finite amount of energy available. How and when the driver uses it will be an important factor. That also means charging up the battery, to have energy to use in the first place, is just as important as deploying it.
Recharge Mode: Electrical Energy Recovery
Recharge is available to a driver for those ‘quieter’ moments on track, when they can afford to tuck away a bit more electrical energy. Under the new regulations, cars will be able to harvest energy to charge the battery when braking, on part throttle, when lifting off (when a driver lifts off the throttle early) or when ‘super clipping’ (when some harvesting happens at the end of the straight when a car is still at full throttle).
Most of the time, the Recharge will be automated and controlled by the car’s ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The only Recharge mode the driver will have direct control of will be lift-off regeneration, whereby if the driver lifts off the throttle pedal, they can Recharge. However, doing this will disable the Active Aero devices as well. In contrast, super clipping tops up the battery while still at full throttle and therefore the Active Aero will still be ‘open’.
Boost Button: Manual Control of Energy Deployment
Boost allows a driver to take manual control of the energy deployment if they need to attack or defend from another racer on track. The button triggers a change in power unit power settings – either returning to maximum power or a profile pre-configured by the team as per their personal choice.
That energy can be used all at once or spread across the lap, depending on when the driver feels they have the best chance to attack or where they are most vulnerable.
Traditionally, F1 cars have tended to ov