The 2026 regulations

The biggest rules reset since 2014, and the first to change strategy at its core: energy becomes a third variable alongside tyres and fuel.

The power unit: close to 50/50

The combustion engine delivers around 400 kW, the MGU-K electric motor 350 kW – almost three times as much as before. The MGU-H, which recovered energy from the exhaust, is gone; all electrical energy must be harvested under braking. The battery's charge level thereby becomes a resource managed lap by lap.

Clipping

The battery holds in the order of 4 MJ. At full electrical power it runs out in just over ten seconds – shorter than the long straights at Monza, Spa and Baku. When the energy is gone the output is clipped and the car loses speed at the end of the straight. The driver therefore budgets the energy with lift and coast and harvesting laps, saving full power for the laps that decide things: the in-lap before a stop, the out-lap after it.

Active aerodynamics

DRS is replaced by two aero modes: Z-mode with high downforce in the corners and X-mode with low drag on the straights, where both the front and rear wings flatten. Less drag means lower energy consumption and less vertical load on the straights; the tyres are instead loaded harder in the transition back ahead of the braking zones.

Override mode

The overtaking aid is no longer aerodynamic. A car within one second behind gets an override mode with extended electric boost at high speed, while the leading car's electric assistance tapers off towards top speed. Running close therefore gives a power advantage on the straights – but costs tyres in the dirty air through the corners. The 2026 data shows it works: more overtakes and lower overtaking thresholds at almost every circuit.

What it does to a pit stop

A stop is now planned in three dimensions: tyre age, fuel – and the battery. A harvesting lap before the in-lap so the battery is full, a push in-lap to pull off or defend against an undercut, a push out-lap on cold tyres. The model on this site tracks the battery through the whole race with three modes per lap. Backtesting shows, however, that the energy term changes when you stop very little – its value lies in the in-laps and out-laps, not in the choice of lap.

Two compounds – and Monaco

In a dry race at least two different dry compounds must be used, which makes one stop mandatory. Since 2025 Monaco has required at least two stops, which is why the model skips Monaco when backtesting one-stop strategies.