What F1 Got Wrong With the 2026 Regulation Change
The 2026 Formula 1 season has presented one of the biggest regulation changes in the sport’s history and it has done so less than seamlessly.
The most apparent issue plaguing both the drivers and viewers can be boiled down to one not so tiny thing: the new 50-50 hybrid engine. This engine is equipped with 50 percent internal combustion and 50 percent electrical power, which is a large shift from the 80-20 split of the past. The implementation of this new power unit has seemed to redraw the lines of what constitutes a strong driver; instead of focusing on high speed strategies, drivers must now manually manage battery use to avoid exhausting their energy supply. To spectators, this has overwhelmingly impacted the intensity of Formula 1 racing, with high speed corners now being used to charge up the battery and long straights highlighting how quickly speed is lost. Fans argue that this has made racing appear more artificial instead of technical, with success solely relying on who has the superior battery. Juliette Tabesh (’28) shared her perspective on the engine change.
“When you’re looking at the battery power, it has so much of an influence on the results, especially in the order of the race,” Tabesh said. “That I think is a little bit of a negative.”
This new power unit has also raised questions regarding driver safety. Since the battery can deplete rather quickly, it can cause major drops in speed and lead to a phenomenon known as “superclipping”. This occurs on long straights, when drivers use full throttle and large amounts of battery power to try and reach top speed. Once this is achieved, the battery is almost empty forcing the driver to enter recharge mode while still simultaneously staying in straight mode and being on full throttle. This action results in the top speed to quickly drop off despite the lack of braking, and can ultimately lead to incidents. For example, Haas driver Oliver Bearman experienced a 50G, 191mph crash during the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix due to a speed differential between his car and that of Alpine driver, Franco Colapinto. Within Formula 1 crashes are inevitable, however, incidents due to superclipping are a unique issue; being directly caused by the 50-50 hybrid engine, the solution to this problem is clear but not straightforward.
A battery management racing style has become a consequence of this new engine, leading to divisiveness among fans. Some think it’s too early to judge the new car, while others have immediately detested it. The yo-yo racing that has become common in recent grand prixs might be entertaining for a few laps, with consistent overtakes and race action, but ultimately driver positions will fall back to where they were originally, making the racing seem manufactured and uneventful.
New regulations are not only polarizing viewers, but drivers as well. Redbull driver, Max Verstappen, has been outspoken on his hatred for the new cars, claiming races now feel like “Formula E”—a motorsport that relies on an entirely electric engine— “on steroids” and are the epitome of “anti-racing”. He argues that driving the new car feels more like playing Mario Kart than actually driving an F1 car, highlighting how the change is doing more harm than good.
Recently, the sport has faced an unexpected five week break due to the cancellation of April races. With the ongoing war in the middle east, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) decided to forfeit the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix from the race calendar in order to ensure the protection and safety of drivers and racing personnel. Luckily, this break has posed an opportunity for controversial regulations to be refined; stakeholders unanimously decided to alter the energy parameters during qualifying, lower the peak superclip power, cap the maximum power of “boost” mode, among many other changes that will ensure driver safety and viewer enjoyment. The Miami GP that took place on May 3 already highlighted a positive improvement from the previous races, but only time will reveal whether or not this extensive list of edits has done its job in ‘fixing’ these previous issues.
Art by Florence Fraser-Macduff