{"id":463671,"date":"2026-02-09T11:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/463671\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T11:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:53:10","slug":"drivers-stunned-by-brutal-acceleration-of-2026-cars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/463671\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivers stunned by brutal acceleration of 2026 cars"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(GMM) Formula 1 drivers say the most startling aspect of the new 2026 cars is not cornering speed, but the sheer violence of their acceleration \u2013 described by some as unlike anything previously seen in the sport.\u00a0Haas driver Esteban Ocon (pictured) was among the most outspoken after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autoracing1.com\/pl\/470633\/formula-1-news-barcelona-test-week-cummulative-test-times\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">shakedown running in Barcelona<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat surprised me most is how quickly the speed builds on the straight,\u201d Ocon said. \u201cI never would have thought I could reach 350 kmh so fast. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve never felt in Formula 1 or any other car.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-470407\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/barcelona-test-ocon.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"984\"\/>Most laps on the day \u2013 Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 team, 2026 Formula 1 Barcelona Day 1. Image provided by Haas Team<\/p>\n<p>Ocon recalled one lap with uneven energy deployment that produced eye-opening numbers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had full deployment on the straight and I reached about 355 before the first corner in Barcelona,\u201d he said. \u201cThe braking was completely different. The way the speed increases is insane \u2013 truly insane.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s probably the fastest-accelerating F1 car of all time, with the highest instantaneous power,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Mercedes\u2019 Kimi Antonelli echoed the sentiment, even while acknowledging the limits of energy deployment.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-470665\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/kimi-antonelli.jpg\" alt=\"Kimi Antonelli. Image supplied by the Mercedes F1 team\" width=\"1500\" height=\"998\"\/>Kimi Antonelli. Image supplied by the Mercedes F1 team<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously it doesn\u2019t last the whole straight,\u201d Antonelli said, \u201cbut it\u2019s still very enjoyable to drive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mclaren.com\/racing\/formula-1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">McLaren<\/a>, world champion Lando Norris said the forward G-forces from the acceleration were the biggest shock when he first drove the new car.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels more powerful,\u201d Norris explained. \u201cYou have less grip, but when you\u2019re not grip-limited and you\u2019re in third, fourth or fifth gear, if you deploy all the battery and just let it run, you\u2019d be hitting 380 kmh. The car could do a lot more \u2013 but the battery would be finished.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Norris said the physical sensation caught him off guard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the neck it\u2019s not the cornering \u2013 that\u2019s slow enough for now \u2013 but the acceleration,\u201d he said. \u201cThe first day, the G forwards were a surprise. It felt like a real step up in acceleration and force on the body.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(GMM) Formula 1 drivers say the most startling aspect of the new 2026 cars is not cornering speed,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-463671","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-f1","11":"tag-formula-1","12":"tag-formula1","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}