The drivers will have to manage the energy of the power unit
The tests in Bahrain raised some concerns in terms of performance with regards to F1 2026. In Qualifying it will be necessary to resort to ‘Lift and Coast’ to finish the lap and in race simulation conditions the overtaking mode does not seem to allow the drivers to easily overtake the cars in front of them.
The doubt is that in these conditions pure speed is no longer the fundamental requirement for pilots to make the difference compared to their colleagues. To dispel this scenario there are the statements of Charles Leclerc: “The foot will be needed as soon as possible, while a rider’s head will count more than before – the words of the Ferrari driver in an interview granted to Autosprint – the factors that make the difference will not change and the foot will always count a lot.”
The 2026 cars have pros and cons compared to those of the previous technical cycle: “There is less aerodynamic load, but in slow corners the car is much more agile and lighter. There is a lot of power coming out of corners and the active aerodynamics give us a nice push in the straights. The downside is that in fast corners the speed is a little lower. In any case, the difference in terms of performance is not that large and you still have to get to the car’s limit. A good driver has the duty to find the performance anyway.”
