Max Verstappen, four times world champion and the defining driver of the last era, says the new cars do not feel like Formula 1 anymore. Lando Norris, who ended that era by beating him to the 2025 title, says they are a lot of fun.

Both of them are probably right, and that tension tells you everything you need to know about what Formula 1 has done to itself for 2026.

This is not a routine regulation tweak. The sport has overhauled its engines, rewritten how aerodynamics work, replaced its overtaking system and switched to entirely sustainable fuel.

It is the kind of change that creates new champions and ends dynasties, and the paddock knows it.

THE ENGINE AT THE HEART OF IT ALL

Every major shift in Formula 1 starts with the engine, and 2026 is no different. The cars are still powered by 1.6 litre V6 hybrids, but the architecture of how that power is produced has been torn apart and rebuilt.

The previous generation used two systems to recover energy and feed it back into the battery. The Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic (MGU-K) harvested energy from braking, while the Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H) pulled heat energy from exhaust gases passing through the turbo-charger. Together they accounted for around 20 percent of the car’s total power, maxing out at 120 kilowatts.

The sport has changed the architecture of its engines, forced drivers to rethink aerodynamics and strategy, and switched to entirely sustainable fuel — what will this transformation mean for the 2026 season?

The sport has changed the architecture of its engines, forced drivers to rethink aerodynamics and strategy, and switched to entirely sustainable fuel — what will this transformation mean for the 2026 season?

The MGU-H is gone. It was brutally expensive, relevant to almost no road car technology, and arguably the single biggest barrier to new manufacturers entering the sport. In its place, the MGU-K has been transformed,........

© Dawn (Magazines)