Why F1's 2026 cars will be slower - and why it keeps happening

Formula 1 bosses have pushed back against suggestions that the 2026 cars will drift towards Formula 2-level performance, but they are clear on one point: this year’s machinery will be slower, and that’s entirely by design.

FIA single-seater technical director Nikolas Tombazis described some driver claims about the cars having F2-like pace as “way off the mark”, stressing that current simulations put the new season’s cars roughly one to two seconds slower than last year’s.

He also made no attempt to hide the underlying reality: the start of every major rules cycle brings an intentional performance reset.

“I think comments about Formula 2 pace are way off the mark,” Tombazis said last year. “We are talking about laptimes overall, which are in the region of one or two seconds off where we are now, depending on the track, depending on the conditions.

“And, obviously, at the start of a cycle, it would be silly to be faster than the previous cycle. It would cost us nothing from a regulations point of view, it would be very easy to make the cars go faster.

“But one has to gradually claw back what is gained by natural development. So you can’t start the cycle going faster than the previous one. Then, you know, in 20 years from now, you can imagine what would happen.

“So I think it’s natural that the cars are a bit slower, but I don’t think we are anywhere near the ‘it’s not a Formula 1’ discussion in any way or shape.”

Slowing the cars is the only way to stop each era ending with speeds the championship can no longer safely contain.

Formula 1’s performance curve always rises as a set of rules matures. Teams refine aerodynamic concepts, understand how to exploit grey areas, and unlock efficiencies that the original regulations never predicted.

If each cycle began faster than the one before, that curve would quickly spiral into something unmanageable. That’s part of the reason why the FIA builds in a reset at the start of each era.

The 2009, 2014 and 2022 overhauls all delivered slower cars initially before development rapidly clawed back the deficit.

For the governing body, the reset is a tool to control long-term speed escalation while still allowing teams the freedom to innovate.

Circuit limits and cornering speeds

The most fundamental constraint is physical: the circuits themselves.

Modern F1 cars spend huge portions of the lap in high-speed corners, producing lateral forces that push the limits of what drivers, tyres and safety infrastructure can handle.

Increasing downforce year after year eventually forces the FIA to intervene, either by redesigning the tracks or rebalancing the cars.

That’s why the 2022 rules were introduced in the first place: the 2017–21 cars had become so aerodynamically extreme that the championship risked outgrowing its venues.

A smaller, slightly slower starting point was necessary to keep cornering speeds in check.

And so, the 2026 technical package continues that logic.

Under the new hybrid regulations, laptimes will vary more sharply depending on how easily a circuit allows the power unit to harvest and deploy energy.

Red Bull‘s Paul Monaghan explained that the difference will be central to interpreting 2026 pace.

“We have what we might term energy-rich circuits and energy-poor circuits,” Monaghan explained last season. “So it’s easier to fill the energy store on some tracks. And then the laptime is a little bit slower. Some of the poorer ones, we’re struggling a little bit at the moment – we’re a bit more than that off.

“But one of the great difficulties at the moment is trying to actually establish how much grip we’re going to have. We can have an aero map, and it says we’ll make this level of downforce – is it actually reality?

“So, yes, they’ll be a little bit slower. I don’t think we’ll be Formula 2-paced. I hope not. So that’s where we would be.”

Tyres: the biggest unknown

The 2026 cars began development before the final Pirelli tyres were signed off, leaving a major source of uncertainty baked into every simulation.

“Once we have the final tyres from Pirelli, maybe they’re a little bit better, a little bit worse,” Monaghan said. “And it has quite a knock-on effect to your overall laptime.”

Mercedes‘ deputy technical director Simone Resta added that even with mule-car testing, teams still don’t have a definitive answer on how the tyres will behave with the new chassis and power unit.

“There’s a lot to learn in every area, including electronics, the new control unit and so on,” he said.

Grip levels alone could shift laptime by multiple seconds across a race weekend, a reminder that the tyres have the potential to define more of the performance window than aerodynamics or engine power alone.

Slower doesn’t necessarily mean worse

The consistent message from engineers is that while 2026 will begin with slower cars, that’s not a downgrade. It’s an opportunity.