A mock-up of how next season’s smaller, half-electric F1 cars are expected to look. Photo/ FIA
Formula One has announced new simplified terminology which will be used next year in an effort to make the 2026 regulations easier for fans to understand.
The sport is bracing itself for its biggest technical shake-up in a generation, with a new era of smaller, lighter cars powered 50-50 between an internal combustion engine (Ice) and electrical power. F1 says the changes will “shake up the order and create new excitement, while delivering incredible racing”.
However, the sport’s stakeholders are clearly anxious not to confuse the millions of new fans who have discovered F1 in the last few years, many of them off the back of Netflix’s wildly popular Drive to Survive series. Or traditional fans who have grown weary of what they see as gimmicks and jargon.
According to F1, 13% of the sport’s current fanbase still do not know what the term “DRS” stands for, 14 years after the controversial drag reduction system was introduced.
In collaboration with the FIA, teams and engineers, and after surveying thousands of its core fans, F1 has therefore come up with four “simple, objective and meaningful” terms which will be used to describe what is going on.
This will replace DRS, which was introduced in 2011 to boost overtaking by allowing drivers to open their rear wing on specific straights for less drag, making them faster. Drivers will now be able to deploy extra power to overtake. And as long as they are within a second of the car in front (at a certain detection point) they will be able to deploy that power wherever they see fit over the course of the lap, rather than in specific “DRS zones”.
Another driver-operated function, this will allow drivers to deploy energy from the ERS (energy recovery system). To be used offensively or defensively depending on track position, it gives the driver maximum power from the engine and battery at the push of a button, no matter where they are on track.
With overall downforce having been reduced by 15-30% because of the removal of ground-effect floor tunnels, F1 has instead introduced dynamically adjustable front and rear-wing elements which will automatically open (reducing drag) or close (increasing downforce) depending on whether drivers are on straights or going through corners.
The cars will either be in “corner mode” or “straight mode” but “active aero” will be the umbrella term to describe this.
This will involve drivers recharging their battery with recovered energy from braking, on throttle lift at the end of straights and even in corners where only partial power is applied.
A closer look at the new generation of Formula 1 cars 👀📸#FIA #F126 pic.twitter.com/PCBj11038G
— FIA (@fia) December 17, 2025
The new terms are likely to infuriate some fans who will feel the sport is being dumbed down. But F1 said it was important that “broadcasters, spokespeople, advocates and fans of the sport” were “aligned on a common language that puts the driver centre stage”.
In a statement, F1 said: “2026 is a huge moment for Formula One that will see both the chassis and power units updated, in the biggest overhaul of regulations in the sport’s history. These changes will shake up the order and create new excitement, while delivering incredible racing.
“In this new generation the drivers have more power in their hands than ever before. Critical decision making over energy deployment, regeneration and conservation puts even greater responsibility on them. Understanding how they will deploy and use these new tactical elements will be vital in ensuring the greatest appreciation of their skill and race-craft.”
The raft of new changes for 2026 includes smaller and lighter cars, with the car’s wheelbase reduced by 20cm (to 3.4m), width by 10cm (to 1.9m), floor width cut by 15cm and minimum weight down 30kg to 770kg. These changes are “designed to make the cars more agile and responsive”.
Overall downforce will be reduced and total drag will be decreased by 40%. This will be offset by active aerodynamics – movable front and rear wings to keep the cars glued to the track in corners, while reducing drag on straights.
Tyres will be 25mm narrower at the front and 30mm narrower at the rear, cutting drag and minimising weight.
On the power unit side, teams will be using what the sport describes as a “simplified hybrid”. 50% of power will come from the Ice and 50% through electric power. The new regulations have convinced the likes of Ford and Audi to commit to F1, while Japanese manufacturer Honda returns with Aston Martin.
Cars will run on advanced sustainable fuel which F1 says will not affect performance but which could become a key battleground since they all use different fuel suppliers.
F1 said it developed its new terms in collaboration with the FIA, the teams and engineers.
It added: “We then tested the new terminology on a group of new and traditional fans to understand and hear their views. This included using thorough third-party polling data and through our 50,000-strong community ‘Fan Voice’.”
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