The 2026 Formula 1 season represents something that doesn’t happen very often: a genuine reset. Not a tweak to floor dimensions or a clarification on flexible wing legality — a full, simultaneous overhaul of both the aerodynamic and power unit regulations. The last time F1 changed this much in one step was 2014, and before that you’d have to go back to the turbo era ending in 1988.
It’s worth breaking down what’s actually different, because the headline numbers don’t fully capture the complexity of what teams are dealing with.
Power units: the MGU-H is gone
The 2014–2025 power unit formula was built around three energy recovery components: the MGU-K (kinetic), the MGU-H (heat), and a battery. The MGU-H was the one that gave Mercedes a decade of advantage — it harvested energy from the turbocharger and could both accelerate the turbo (eliminating turbo lag) and generate electricity for the battery. Getting the MGU-H right was extraordinarily difficult. Mercedes got there first and the gap never fully closed.
2026 removes the MGU-H entirely. The turbocharger is now a simpler unit without electrical integration. The complexity has been cut in a specific place to allow new manufacturers to enter the sport — Audi being the most significant.
In its place, the MGU-K has been massively scaled up. Where the outgoing unit produced roughly 120kW, the 2026 MGU-K produces around 350kW. Combined with the 1.6L V6 turbocharged ICE producing approximately 400kW, total power output sits around 750kW — but the split is fundamentally different. At certain points on circuit, the electric component is providing close to half of the car’s total drive.
This changes deployment strategy entirely. The battery is larger, the energy flow rates are higher, and the management of when and how to deploy electrical power across a lap is a new optimisation problem. Teams that solve this first will have an advantage that, unlike the old MGU-H edge, is potentially more catchable because the component is simpler to manufacture.
Six power unit suppliers
For most of the hybrid era, there were four PU suppliers. 2026 has six:
- Mercedes — defending champions of the engine formula, now without MGU-H advantage
- Ferrari — consistent improver through the hybrid era
- Honda — back full-time as a works supplier (Red Bull partnership)
- Renault — continuing under the Alpine programme
- Red Bull Powertrains — the in-house unit Red Bull built to reduce Honda dependency
- Audi — entering as both engine supplier and constructor, acquiring Sauber
Six suppliers on a brand-new formula means six different interpretations of the same regulation. The convergence toward a single dominant approach — which took about three years in 2014 — will play out again. The first season will be genuinely chaotic.
Aerodynamics: active everything
DRS — the drag reduction system — has been on the grid since 2011. Drivers opened a rear wing flap in designated zones to reduce drag and facilitate overtaking. Simple, effective, and eventually baked into race strategies to the point of being predictable.
2026 replaces DRS with Manual Override Mode (MOM). The key difference: MOM activates moveable elements on both the front and rear wings simultaneously, not just the rear flap. Both elements reduce drag in concert. When MOM is deactivated — including when the driver is cornering — both wings return to their high-downforce configuration.
This matters for two reasons. First, the front wing element being active means the aerodynamic balance of the car changes during deployment, which changes how the driver can use the system. A driver can’t just open the rear flap and brake normally — the front is different too. Second, MOM can be used more freely than DRS: there are no fixed zones, and the system is available whenever the car is travelling in a straight line above a threshold speed.
Teams will need to model not just “will our car be faster in a straight line with MOM open” but also “what does MOM deployment look like across the entire lap, and how does that interact with tyre load cycles, brake temperatures, and battery state?”
Smaller, lighter cars
The 2022–2025 cars were the heaviest in F1 history — pushing toward 800kg in race trim. The 2026 regulations mandated a significant reduction in car dimensions and weight. Narrower cars, shorter wheelbases, and a target weight closer to the ground effect era baseline.
This matters less than the aero and PU changes in pure performance terms, but it affects how the car handles, how it fits through the field during racing, and how the mechanical components package. Teams that designed their operational processes around the larger car geometry have had to restructure.
What to watch for in 2026
Which PU supplier gets deployment right fastest. The MGU-K scaling means energy management is the defining lap time variable in a way it wasn’t before. The team that builds the best battery management software — not just the best hardware — will have a significant and hard-to-close edge.
How MOM actually changes racing. The theory is better racing. The reality will depend on whether teams find ways to make overtaking predictable again through race engineering. If MOM is predictable — “open MOM at point X and you gain Y” — it’s just DRS with better PR. If the variance is higher, races become genuinely less scripted.
Audi’s first season. They’ve had years to prepare and significant resources. But preparing for a regulation set that no one has ever raced on is fundamentally different from inheriting a tested package. The first races will reveal whether Sauber’s transformation is ready.
Newey’s car. Adrian Newey spent most of the 2026 design cycle at Aston Martin, working on a regulation set with a blank sheet of paper. His track record at regulation resets is exceptional — the RB18 was the dominant 2022 car. Whether that translates to a different team and a different resource base is the most interesting question of the season.
The 2026 season is the most technically interesting in years. Not because the racing will necessarily be better — resets are often chaotic before they’re spectacular — but because the questions are genuinely open in a way they haven’t been since 2022.
Everyone is lost. That’s exactly where it gets good.