This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
We wish you all a Happy New Year and a Great 2026 F1 Season!
β€15π9
Ever seen a 2026 F1 car accelerate?
Now you can, through this simulation!π
β¬οΈ Normal ERS vs π₯ Overtake Mode
β Normal Aero vs -- Active Aero
Key points:
- Cars will accelerate QUICKER than in '25 until 290km/h (same power, 30kg less, less drag).
- Beyond that, acceleration drops sharply as ERS power fades. When chasing another car, Overtake keeps full ERS power up to 337.5 km/h.
- In '25, Active Aero's (DRS) impact grew with speed. Same in '26, AS LONG ASA.
full ERS power is available. With overtake mode and open wings, '26 cars will accelerate super-quickly until 337.5km/h, then effectively 'hit a wall' (as ERS power drops sharply).
Data:
m: 770kg;
Power: 400 kW (ICE) + 350 kW (ERS);
Rho: 1.225 kgm-3 (air density);
CdA: 0.77 m2 (Closed) vs 0.66 m2 (Open wings).
Now you can, through this simulation!π
β¬οΈ Normal ERS vs π₯ Overtake Mode
β Normal Aero vs -- Active Aero
Key points:
- Cars will accelerate QUICKER than in '25 until 290km/h (same power, 30kg less, less drag).
- Beyond that, acceleration drops sharply as ERS power fades. When chasing another car, Overtake keeps full ERS power up to 337.5 km/h.
- In '25, Active Aero's (DRS) impact grew with speed. Same in '26, AS LONG ASA.
full ERS power is available. With overtake mode and open wings, '26 cars will accelerate super-quickly until 337.5km/h, then effectively 'hit a wall' (as ERS power drops sharply).
Data:
m: 770kg;
Power: 400 kW (ICE) + 350 kW (ERS);
Rho: 1.225 kgm-3 (air density);
CdA: 0.77 m2 (Closed) vs 0.66 m2 (Open wings).
π9β€6
Formula Data Analysis
Ever seen a 2026 F1 car accelerate? Now you can, through this simulation!π β¬οΈ Normal ERS vs π₯ Overtake Mode β Normal Aero vs -- Active Aero Key points: - Cars will accelerate QUICKER than in '25 until 290km/h (same power, 30kg less, less drag). - Beyondβ¦
Telegram
Formula Data Analysis
Confused about the 2026 engine & aero rules? π€
Can't miss my simulation-driven breakdown!π‘
(And discover why the power drop off prevents them from exceeding 400 km/h!)
β¬οΈ Internal Combustion Engine (ICE): 620 kW ('25) β 400 kW ('26)
π¦ ERS: 120 kW ('25) ββ¦
Can't miss my simulation-driven breakdown!π‘
(And discover why the power drop off prevents them from exceeding 400 km/h!)
β¬οΈ Internal Combustion Engine (ICE): 620 kW ('25) β 400 kW ('26)
π¦ ERS: 120 kW ('25) ββ¦
π4β€3
Circuits Currently Covered in Snow [Sources: https://x.com/F1BigData; https://x.com/autosport; https://x.com/KrisVanD2; https://x.com/nuerburgring; https://x.com/MV33Racing ]
β€20π±1
Mercedes' (and RBR's?) "compression ratio trick" could be worth 4 tenths in Monza, and even more in the opening laps (~21s over a race: the difference between P2 and P6 this year)!
Letβs look at the numbers!
16:1 β mandated β26 compression ratio (cold engine check)
18:1 β β25 level (~ upper knock limit)
Reaching 18:1 in β26 via thermal expansion would yield ~10 kW (~13 hp), requiring only a ~0.5 mm geometric change.
Currently, +13hp ICE power is worth ~0.26s/lap in Monza. But '26 ICEs will be far less powerful (~540hp vs ~840hp), so the same gain matters much more, since the ICE feeds the battery!
Letβs look at the numbers!
16:1 β mandated β26 compression ratio (cold engine check)
18:1 β β25 level (~ upper knock limit)
Reaching 18:1 in β26 via thermal expansion would yield ~10 kW (~13 hp), requiring only a ~0.5 mm geometric change.
Currently, +13hp ICE power is worth ~0.26s/lap in Monza. But '26 ICEs will be far less powerful (~540hp vs ~840hp), so the same gain matters much more, since the ICE feeds the battery!
π2β€1π1
Formula Data Analysis
Mercedes' (and RBR's?) "compression ratio trick" could be worth 4 tenths in Monza, and even more in the opening laps (~21s over a race: the difference between P2 and P6 this year)! Letβs look at the numbers! 16:1 β mandated β26 compression ratio (cold engineβ¦
Scaling the effect:
0.26 / 540 Γ 840 β 0.4 s/lap
That means:
- More ICE power;
- More ERS power;
- Lighter car at race start (Higher thermal efficiency with fixed fuel flow β Better fuel economy β Less fuel load).
This mirrors the early ('14) V6 era, when Mercedes NEVER ran full power, and still dominated with a detuned engine!
Such a fundamental design advantage will be hard to copy before '27. That said, this is Mercedes' best-case scenario: its real impact might be smaller.
What are your expectations? π€
0.26 / 540 Γ 840 β 0.4 s/lap
That means:
- More ICE power;
- More ERS power;
- Lighter car at race start (Higher thermal efficiency with fixed fuel flow β Better fuel economy β Less fuel load).
This mirrors the early ('14) V6 era, when Mercedes NEVER ran full power, and still dominated with a detuned engine!
Such a fundamental design advantage will be hard to copy before '27. That said, this is Mercedes' best-case scenario: its real impact might be smaller.
What are your expectations? π€
π2π2
Formula Data Analysis
Scaling the effect: 0.26 / 540 Γ 840 β 0.4 s/lap That means: - More ICE power; - More ERS power; - Lighter car at race start (Higher thermal efficiency with fixed fuel flow β Better fuel economy β Less fuel load). This mirrors the early ('14) V6 era, whenβ¦
Some of the sources I started from come from this article:
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/everything-we-learned-about-impact-of-f1-2026s-loophole-controversy/
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/everything-we-learned-about-impact-of-f1-2026s-loophole-controversy/
The Race
No hope for rivals until 2027? The impact of F1's loophole controversy
What we've learned about the impact of F1 2026's big engine loophole controversy, why it's so complicated and what happens next
π₯2π₯°2
I simulated a π₯ 2026 F1 carβs acceleration against π¦ VERβs real Monza pole telemetry, and the result was shocking!
Narrower track + active aero slash drag, so 2026 cars accelerate much faster than β25 cars.
ERS power will drop above 290 km/h, yet the drag reduction more than offsets the lower ICE power!
And that's without 'ERS Override': with that, maximum power will be retained until 337km/h!
After opening the DRS, the 2025 car did start closing the gap... but was still slower by the end of Monza's long straight!
I assumed a conservative 90% transmission efficiency for '26 and picked Monza to minimise β25 dragβ¦ yet the acceleration gap stayed massive!
2026 cars will be ROCKETS! π
Narrower track + active aero slash drag, so 2026 cars accelerate much faster than β25 cars.
ERS power will drop above 290 km/h, yet the drag reduction more than offsets the lower ICE power!
And that's without 'ERS Override': with that, maximum power will be retained until 337km/h!
After opening the DRS, the 2025 car did start closing the gap... but was still slower by the end of Monza's long straight!
I assumed a conservative 90% transmission efficiency for '26 and picked Monza to minimise β25 dragβ¦ yet the acceleration gap stayed massive!
2026 cars will be ROCKETS! π
β€12π€―5