{"id":89481,"date":"2025-08-22T19:58:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T19:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/89481\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T19:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T19:58:10","slug":"2026-f1-cars-might-reach-monster-straight-line-speeds-claims-wolff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/89481\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 F1 cars might reach monster straight-line speeds, claims Wolff"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mercedes team principal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpblog.com\/en\/toto-wolff\" title=\"Toto Wolff\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Toto Wolff<\/a> is convinced that the 2026 cars will be capable of reaching top speeds close to 400 km\/h on the straights at full power.With only a few months left before 2026 ushers in sweeping new technical regulations set to redefine both the inner workings and outer design of the cars, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpblog.com\/en\/news\/fia-reacts-to-f1-slow-as-f2-in-2026-fears-due-to-regulations-overhaul\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Formula 1 is already turning a sharp eye toward the dawn of its next era.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>As has long been known, the overhaul won\u2019t be limited to aerodynamics and the floor \u2014 with the ground-effect concept set to be abandoned \u2014 but will also, and most importantly, involve the power units.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, the new power units will deliver a 50\u201350 split between internal combustion and electric power, with the latter receiving a major boost \u2014 jumping from 120 to an impressive 350 kilowatts, nearly three times the current output.<\/p>\n<p>The ICE, meanwhile, will see a reduction in power compared to today, but this will be largely offset by the increased electric output, maintaining a balance between the two systems.<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, the cars will be lighter, slimmer, and shorter, with a redesigned aerodynamic package that eliminates the beam wing, front Venturi channels, and part of the underbody\u2019s trailing edge.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/toto-wolff-in-hungary-6898a17db02a9.jpg@webp.webp\" class=\"w-auto\" alt=\"Toto Wolff in Hungary\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Toto Wolff in Hungary<\/p>\n<p>F1 2026 cars to get close to 400 km\/h, claims Wolff<\/p>\n<p>Active aerodynamic elements will also make their debut, as the DRS is formally phased out in favor of the introduction of X and Z modes.<\/p>\n<p>In X mode, both the front and rear wing flaps can open on the straights, reducing aerodynamic drag and boosting top speed.<\/p>\n<p>This is going to work in conjunction with the manual override mode, a small electric boost designed to further enhance overtaking opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>All of this is expected to result in astonishingly high top speeds on the straights, as even Toto Wolff has acknowledged.<\/p>\n<p>&#8221;If the full power is called upon, we will scratch the 400 km\/h limit,&#8221; the Mercedes team principal stated in conversation with Auto Motor Und Sport.<\/p>\n<p>The highest straight-line speed ever recorded in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gpblog.com\/en\/formula-1\" title=\"Formula 1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Formula 1<\/a> belongs to Valtteri Bottas, who hit 378 km\/h during the 2016 Baku weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is convinced that the 2026 cars will be capable of reaching top speeds&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89482,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,82],"class_list":["post-89481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89481","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=89481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}