{"id":390886,"date":"2026-01-04T10:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T10:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/390886\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T10:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T10:45:09","slug":"why-2026-f1-cars-will-demand-radically-different-driving-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/390886\/","title":{"rendered":"Why 2026 F1 cars will demand radically different driving style"},"content":{"rendered":"

Esteban Ocon believes Formula 1<\/a>\u2019s 2026 regulations will demand a completely new driving approach, comparing the experience to switching from an F1 car to a rally machine.<\/p>\n

F1 will introduce sweeping technical changes in 2026, covering both chassis and power units.<\/p>\n

The rules aim to reshape how the cars generate performance and how drivers race them.<\/p>\n

Moveable aerodynamics will return, while electrical energy will play a far larger role in overall power delivery.<\/p>\n

Straight-line speeds are expected to increase. Cornering speeds, however, are likely to fall. The result should be a very different spectacle.<\/p>\n

Energy deployment and recovery are set to become central to racecraft, placing new demands on drivers behind the wheel.<\/p>\n

Ocon, who will race for Haas alongside Oliver Bearman, has already had an initial taste of what lies ahead through limited simulator work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like if you jump from an F1 car to a rally car next year, pretty much, it\u2019s that different,\u201d he told media including Motorsport Week.<\/p>\n

The 2026 concept marks a clear shift away from the current ground-effect era.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s cars generate much of their downforce through the floor, producing high loads but also a stiff and unforgiving ride.<\/p>\n

The next generation is designed to rely less on that philosophy, altering the balance and feel of the car.<\/p>\n

Despite early impressions, the true competitive picture remains unclear.<\/p>\n

Teams are running their own simulations in isolation, each following different development paths.<\/p>\n

That makes it difficult to predict how the cars will race once they finally hit the track together.<\/p>\n

What does seem likely is a wider performance spread, at least initially.<\/p>\n

Previous regulations helped compress the field. A clean-sheet ruleset across both chassis and power units offers more scope for teams to gain early advantages.<\/p>\n

Ocon expects a steep learning curve.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have a lot of testing, but a lot of new things to learn,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"HaasHaas didn\u2019t focus on 2026 until the season ended<\/p>\n

Why Haas delayed 2026 preparations for drivers<\/p>\n

Haas is building its own simulator in partnership with Toyota, but currently relies on Ferrari\u2019s facility in Maranello.<\/p>\n

Even so, detailed work on the 2026 car was kept to a minimum during the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why me and Ollie, we have, at the moment, very limited data,\u201d Ocon explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they have a technical direction that they want, we have a meeting for it, but it has been very limited and they want to really has to focus on what we have to do [in 2025].\u201d<\/p>\n

The approach made sense given how tight the midfield battle was.<\/p>\n

Haas finished eighth in the Constructors\u2019 Championship<\/a>, just nine points ahead of Sauber and within striking distance of Aston Martin and Racing Bulls.<\/p>\n

Those positions can be worth tens of millions in prize money.<\/p>\n

More serious work on the 2026 concept began after the season ended.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been the team\u2019s decision,\u201d Ocon said. \u201cThat\u2019s been Ayao\u2019s decision for us to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the team needs us to have a technical direction, they ask us, but I trust what they want to do. I think it\u2019s the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE \u2013 Ex-F1 technical chief criticises FIA over 2026 engine formula<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Esteban Ocon believes Formula 1\u2019s 2026 regulations will demand a completely new driving approach, comparing the experience to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,22304,817,813,816,5328,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-390886","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-esteban-ocon","11":"tag-f1","12":"tag-formula-1","13":"tag-formula1","14":"tag-haas","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}