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Formula Data Analysis
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Merry Christmas everyone!
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Confused about the 2026 engine & aero rules? 🤔
Can't miss my simulation-driven breakdown!💡
(And discover why the power drop off prevents them from exceeding 400 km/h!)

⬛️ Internal Combustion Engine (ICE): 620 kW ('25) → 400 kW ('26)
🟦 ERS: 120 kW ('25) → 350 kW ('26)

However, ERS power drops off from 290 km/h, reaching 0 kW at 345 km/h.

Drivers within 1s can use 'Overtake' (🟦dashed line) to keep max ERS until 340 km/h, and some power up to 355 km/h. Still ICE-only above that.

Engine power must overcome 🟥Drag, which drops on straights as wings open (dashed line). The top speed (Engine power = Drag power) I've computed (~359 km/h) would NOT be impacted by Overtake mode... as the ERS power is 0kW above 355km/h anyway!
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Formula Data Analysis
Confused about the 2026 engine & aero rules? 🤔 Can't miss my simulation-driven breakdown!💡 (And discover why the power drop off prevents them from exceeding 400 km/h!) ⬛️ Internal Combustion Engine (ICE): 620 kW ('25) → 400 kW ('26) 🟦 ERS: 120 kW ('25) →…
The top speed computed (Engine power = Drag power) is ~359 km/h, and Overtake doesn’t change it (0 kW above ~355 km/h).

Final (and wild) stat: with drag at ~half today's level, ICE's 400 kW (545 hp) is enough for ~360 km/h.

With unlimited ERS (400+350 kW)? They’d hit ~440 km/h!

Aero data used:
Rho: 1.225 kgm-3 (air density)
CdA: 0.77 m2 (Closed) vs 0.66 m2 (Open wings)

Kudos to @brakeboosted for giving me this idea and suggesting some very reasonable CdA values!
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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 🟥 Overtake Mode
— 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 → mandated ’26 compression ratio (cold engine check)
18:1 → ’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 → mandated ’26 compression ratio (cold engine…
Scaling the effect:
0.26 / 540 × 840 ≈ 0.4 s/lap

That means:
- More ICE power;
- More ERS power;
- Lighter car at race start (Higher thermal efficiency with fixed fuel flow → Better fuel economy → 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? 🤔
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I simulated a 🟥 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! 🚀
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The renders - NOT the physical show cars - released by
Red Bull Racing and VCARB do NOT match any F1 FIA renders seen so far. They may be pre-testing prototypes, hinting at the design direction already chosen. 💡

Both will switch the front suspension from PULL to PUSH-rod. 🛠
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