Formula 1 will enter a new era in 2026 with completely new rules that will change the cars in a big way. The power will be split evenly between the combustion engine and the electric motor, fifty percent each. The tyres will be smaller and the aerodynamics less powerful than today, which is a step away from the designs introduced in 2022.

The cars will also be a little smaller. Mercedes technical director James Allison explained that the new design will not be the same as either the older or the current cars, but something in between.

The first opinions from drivers come only from simulator testing. Charles Leclerc said he is not a fan of the new rules. Alex Albon believes they will give drivers more responsibility. Lewis Hamilton said that time will show if the changes are an improvement, but he finds the concept fascinating.

There are worries that lap times will be slower because of the hybrid engines. The petrol engine will produce about 575 horsepower and the electric unit around 475. This could mean lower speed on the straights, but the electric power should help a lot in the corners. Aston Martin reserve driver Felipe Drugovich said: “The car pushes like crazy out of the corners. You feel like you’re sitting on a rocket.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is confident about the speed. He told Auto Motor und Sport: “When full power is deployed, we’ll be approaching the 400 km/h limit.” If that happens, it would break the current top speed record of 372.5 km/h, set by Valtteri Bottas in 2016.

Wolff also pushed back against early criticism, saying: “How can you criticise something that hasn’t even been fully developed yet?” He explained that the new cars will simply give drivers a different feeling and that this is not automatically a bad thing.

The cars will not be seen on track until testing in Barcelona at the start of 2026, but already many teams are focusing their development in this direction. Some expect racing to look different, with drivers managing battery power as well as engine power. According to Albon, this could give drivers a bigger role in how races play out.