Much has and much will continue to be written about the all new Formula One era in 2026. The long awaited new engines first pencilled in for introduction in 2021 have finally revealed their true potential and the power available to the drivers is truly frightening.
In the first qualifying session of the year in Australia, Max Verstappen dared to approach turn one of the Albert Park Circuit in the fashion he has learned over a decade of racing, and BOOM – in kicked the electrical power, lighting up his rear tyres and sending him into the barrier.
Oscar Piastri too was caught out by the surge of enormous electrical energy, but he was on the way to the grid for his home Grand Prix. He didn’t make it and once again no Australian has won their home Grand Prix since the inception of the sport.
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Radical new F1 racing
To handle the awesome power of the new hybrid engines, the entire chassis and aerodynamics of the cars had to be redesigned. Now with more than three times the electrical power of the previous F1 power units, the 2026 F1 engines are beasts which must be tamed. Incremental downforce is now required in the corners, so both front and rear wings deploy to give extra drag at the drivers discretion.
On the straight they return to a ‘flatter’ profile, which reduces downforce and drag and allows the cars to theoretically hit 300mph. Then there’s the electrical boost at the drivers discretion to take into account. Up from 120kw in the 2025 engines, the driver can deploy a massive extra 350kw (approx 470bhp) at the press of a button.
That said when harvesting energy under braking, the all new PU’s are restricted to 250kw, which appears somewhat strange. Then again, there’s much that is strange in Formula One’s new era, which the organisers are trying to promote as the future of racing.
When this writer learned to race some 40 years ago, the importance of hitting the apex, cadence braking, rotating the car properly in the corner and applying the power as early as possible whilst riding on the edge of adhesion were all skills which needed to be mastered. But for today’s F1 drivers, it seems like it’s back to the classroom.
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F1 drivers to become the masters of energy deployment
Seven times F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton went to great lengths to explain to the fans the new objective of F1 racing after his fourth place in Australia. He was asked why drivers needed to ‘lift and cost’ into certain corners when previously they raced flat out to the braking point.
“On some tracks you don’t have to do lift-and-coast for a single lap and in some places you have to do a lot of lift-and-coast for a qualifying lap,” he explained in the paddock. “There can be a big difference between deployment, [up to] a second.
“If you don’t lift in one corner – for example turn six, turn five here, if you take it flat [out] or if you lift, it has a massive compound effect through the rest of the lap. You can do a good lap but you could be a second down because the deployment is off.”
So drivers are having to go slower than they did previously, to ensure their total lap time is overall quicker??? That’s one for a Stephen Hawking theoretical astrophysics class. And in fact Lewis Hamilton has revealed the new all consuming focus on energy management in the modern F1 has meant he needed to go back to school.
Lewis Hamilton says its ‘back to school’
Hamilton bailed from his academic studies – or as he described it “faced exclusion” as a child to pursue his karting career. Yet know Lewis has gone back to academia to do “much more study”, to learn the art of the all new F1 racing.
When asked in Japan about how he’d come too learn the intricacies of there new retirement to manage energy over the winter, Lewis revealed that the pre-season testing didn’t really give him the education he required. “I think in testing actually I didn’t really get to experience it.
“It’s really more in these three races that we’ve had, with the Sprint race and this race and obviously Melbourne, that it’s really become apparent when you’re surrounded by the cars in the fight what battery usage is like, and when you have the boost, how to utilise it and all those sorts of things.
“So, very, very challenging. I don’t necessarily feel a huge step compared to these guys [Mercedes] – when the boost is there, when you’re within that one second, they’re still pulling away on the straight. So we overall just need more [power]. But it is much more study, I would say, than any other era that I’ve had, and you have to be very, very meticulous and pay attention to the fine detail.”
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Its unlikely the F1 drivers require much knowledge about ‘string theory’ but the new rules have created a veritable storm in the paddock, with mots drivers speaking out candidly against them.
In China, quadruple world champion Max Verstappen was scathing in his assessment. “If someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is like,” said the Red Bull driver. “Not fun at all. Playing Mario Kart. This is not racing. Boosting past, then you run out of battery, the next straight they boost past you again. For me, it’s just a joke.”
Formula One have provided all new TV graphics for fans to understand the all consuming energy deployment issues. These show the state of the battery charge, the rate of harvesting and the rate of deployment. All pretty useful, but the TV director can’t get the pictures up fast enough as the overwhelming number of overtakers come thick and fast at the start of the race.
Having toiled for decades trying to solve its ‘dirty air’ issues and the lack of overtaking, Formula One has truly been born again in an instant. It is a veritable ‘overtakingfest’ which fills out TV screens on national Sunday afternoon.
Carlos Sainz disparaging over ‘flawed product’
Unfortunately, there are now those crying foul, as the all new TV graphics appear to have been manipulated to present a reality to the fans which is not true. When the cars are ‘super clipping’ they slow massively – usually on the straight. But the TV graphic is designed to fool the fans from the onboard that the driver is still flat out.
Carlos Sainz noted this and suggested it was proof the F1 organisers knew the new style of racing is a ‘flawed product,’ but are trying to sell it to the millions of F1 fans. “When you look at what they are doing with graphics and everything, they are trying to do their best to sell something that I think we all know is not the right formula for Formula 1,” said the Spaniard after the race in China. “So, I’m really hoping that there’s going to be changes soon, because it’s not the best formula.”
Despite promising to address the issues post the Melbourne season opener, the FIA has now back tracked and decided no future action will come before the Japanese Grand Prix. With the cancelation of Bahrain and Saudi F1 weekends in April, the FIA will have time to revisit their sums and to check if their classroom mathematics is really adding up.
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NEXT ARTICLE – F1 accused of manipulating TV graphics to hide the new engine problems
Following the 2026 Formula One season opener in Melbourne, Australia, most of the drivers were highly critical of the sports new focus on energy management and deployment. The long awaited redesigned powertrains – which were initially due in 2021 – were a potential headache for F1 given certain manufacturers insistence on persisting with an upgraded hybrid architecture.
The electric al energy would be increased threefold from its predecessors and deliver 50% of the power output along with the internal combustion engine. The writing was on the wall back in the summer of 2023 when early Red Bull Racing simulations of the new powertrains were described by then team boss Christian Horner as “Frankenstein monsters.”
Now it has been proven to be the case that firstly, the drivers cannot drive flat out for a complete qualifying lap, something which is an anathema to most fans of the sport along with the drivers. Secondly, cars are running out of electrical charge before the end of the straights and the spectacle of them slowing when they should be at maximum power is bizarre….. CONTINUE READING
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
