Formula Data Analysis
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All the analyses of the world’s most famous page on Formula 1 telemetry: join NOW to understand F1 better!πŸŽπŸ“ˆ
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We wish you all a Happy New Year and a Great 2026 F1 Season!
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Ever seen a 2026 F1 car accelerate?
Now you can, through this simulation!🏎

⬛️ Normal ERS vs πŸŸ₯ 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).
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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)!

Let’s look at the numbers!

16:1 β†’ mandated ’26 compression ratio (cold engine check)
18:1 β†’ ’25 level (~ upper knock limit)

Reaching 18:1 in ’26 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!
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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)! Let’s look at the numbers! 16:1 β†’ mandated ’26 compression ratio (cold engine…
Scaling the effect:
0.26 / 540 Γ— 840 β‰ˆ 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? πŸ€”
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I simulated a πŸŸ₯ 2026 F1 car’s acceleration against 🟦 VER’s real Monza pole telemetry, and the result was shocking!

Narrower track + active aero slash drag, so 2026 cars accelerate much faster than ’25 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 ’25 drag… yet the acceleration gap stayed massive!

2026 cars will be ROCKETS! πŸš€
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