Last Updated on April 24 2026, 10:51 am
Despite the powers that be in Formula One claiming the fans are loving elements of the all new 2026 regulations and powertrains, after just three rounds of this season it was decided the rules needed to be “tweaked.” At a meeting of the teams, the FIA and F1 last week, various elements of the electrical energy harvesting and deployment have been modified.
The decisions were based o simulations from the FIA’s technical department together with secret analysis provided by the teams. McLaren were one of those who contributed to the analysis and now reveal their findings and how they believe the new rules will affect the on track performance.
Under the watchful eye of Mark Temple, technical director for McLaren’s engineering, the team produced a combination of traces which compared the laps in Australia from 2025, 2026 and the new theoretical ties following the “tweaks” which will feature from Miami onwards.
McLaren simulation of FIA rule ‘tweaks’
It reveals the 2026 cars have much higher straight line speeds than their predecessors but due to various phenomena they would visibly slow towards the end of the straights. This was due to a combination of the battery running out of power and the driver switching to harvesting more electrical energy.
The recharge is achieved by a combination of “lifting and coasting” together with the new phenomena of “super clipping” where the MGU-K runs in reverse against the combustion engine which is acting as a generator to charge the battery. Of course whilst the ICE is generating electricity it is not fully driving the axle of the car and delivering power despite the driver being full on the gas.
McLaren’s graphs show that whilst for a short period of time the 2026 cars in Melbourne achieved a higher top speed early on the straight, they are much slower come the start of the braking phase as the battery is depleted. To smooth out this severe peak and trough, the FIA have reduced the amount of electrical power available each lap from the driver from 8MJ to 7MJ.
Some argued that this would be insufficient at circuits like Monza and even Canada where energy recovery is low due to less braking around the circuit layout. Yet the FIA retain the option to change the maximum electrical output available to the drivers pretty much on a circuit by circuit basis.
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In addition, the cars were restricted to harvesting energy at 250Kw which meant super clipping could be as long as 8 seconds.The rate of energy recovery has been increased to 350Kw meaning at most circuits the ‘super clipping’ harvesting will now last for around 3 seconds. “There will be less need, or no need, to deploy funny charging strategies so as to get to the necessary level of energy,” said the FIA’s head of day to day operations, Nikolas Tombazis.
McLaren’s technical director reveals the objective of the rule tweaks “from a driving point of view – the idea is to get rid of some of these things that the drivers don’t like doing in qualifying”. This is where drivers have been particularly critical of the new rules which prevents them from pushing flat out as they wold have done previously.
Whilst McLaren’s analysis provides copious graphs and statistics, broadly speaking were the cars to run again in Melbourne after the rule changes, the cars demonstrate a smaller level of peak power and top speed but are able to sustain this for longer. Just as in 2025 – Mmmm. Now with version 2 of McLaren’s simulation the cars are bizarrely slower coming out of the final corner in the early acceleration phase but do accelerate for longer than they did at the Grad Prix in march.
This is reflected around the entire lap as the amount of power available on first deployment has been restricted, slowing the cars but ensuring they retain their speed for longer. It begs the question whether F1 is going back to its past of 2025, but having spent over a billion dollars on new power units?
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All in all the lap is now slightly slower, but more ‘normal’ in terms of the 2025 engines. That said the 2026 cars have less downforce than their predecessors and following the rules changes this means with the drivers now attacking the corners, rather than coasting in, the limitation of grip will be more evident in terms of the cars drifting.
So the cars should slow less visibly and the dangerous closing speeds as evidence by Bearman’s horrific crash in Japan will be reduced. There are other intricacies which have been altered for the technical geeks, but suffice to say the engine tracks used by Mercedes and Red Bull are no longer available to the drivers.
Further, the point at which the battery full deployment by the throttle becomes available has been altered. Drivers were experiencing over or understeer in the corners and were lifting from the throttle as would be normal when the car steps out of line. However, this resulted in the driver inadvertently engaging the maximum MGU-K deployment meaning when back on full throttle they were draining the battery unnecessarily.
It will also eliminate the phenomena of drivers who are completing their out-lap, delaying full throttle when coming out of the corner until they reached the start finish line. This was to prevent the ‘wasting’ of battery power which would deplete before the first corner was reached.
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“That’s now going to be easier for the driver and they won’t have to sit at part-throttle waiting and then go to full throttle,” reveals Temple. This ridiculous phenomena was seen in Suzuka last time out, when McLaren driver Lando Norris was sitting behind Lewis Hamilton on the approach to 130R.
He revealed after the race because his throttle position was marginally over the limit where the full battery deployment kicked in, his car decided to overtake the Ferrari even though it was not the world champion’s intention.
Whilst McLaren’s simulations offer some insight into what will change for F1 going forward in terms of theoretical laps, it is only when the cars are on track we will finally understand the impact of the changes. The FIA failed to force the impact of the first set of 2026 engine rules and it could be during the heat of battle in a Grand Prix, new and strange phenomena will appear.
Yet the FIA’s efforts to return to a genuine style of racing is to be lauded, but it begs the question why bother with these ridiculously expensive and hefty power units, if we merely required them to operate as did their long standing predecessors?
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With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13 and a career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media. Having trained in investigative journalism and contributed to several European sports outlets, Hunt brings rigour and polish to every article. His role is to sharpen analysis, check facts and ensure TJ13’s daily output meets the highest editorial standards.
