>F1 is largely about speed.

Not since a long time. It's about creating endless regulations to please big teams, sponsors and advertisers. 2026 cars will be even slower than before.

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dralley 5 days ago | parent [-]

Faster doesn't necessarily mean better racing. And F1 has been heavily regulated forever.

Turbos were banned in the 80s because they made the cars too powerful and difficult to handle. The reason F1 tires had big grooves cut into them for a long time was to reduce grip, also in an effort to tame the cars a bit and slow them down while cornering.

The 2026 regulations are no different. Yes peak power is reduced but so is downforce / drag. Drivers will have to brake a bit more at the turns and accelerate out of them (which the extra electrical power will make easier). That means more overtaking possibilities, and the overtaking will likely be more based on driving skill than the current DRS push-to-pass. The current ground effect cars have so much downforce that they can go through corners flat out that no previous generation of cars would have been able to - and while that's cool to watch it's not that interesting from a racing perspective. You don't want to watch a high-speed parade.

For years everyone was catastrophizing about how the 2026 regs would make the cars 8 seconds slower, but the current consensus is around 1 second. That's not a big deal. And it only takes things back to say 2007 speeds, nobody ever accused 2007 of not being exciting.

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stockresearcher 5 days ago | parent [-]

6 or 7 years ago, F1 did a tour of large-ish cities around the world that did not have races nearby. They had booths set up where some teams showed off various technologies and materials and you could ask questions. They had some various cars on display. The highlight was a demo session where they had a collection of F1 cars of various vintages as well as some exotics driving around a makeshift circuit that had been setup on streets next to the venue. The one that I had taken my son to, the circuit included a 180 degree turn. None of the most modern F1 cars could navigate it! (well actually, the drivers eventually learned that by doing donuts, they could in fact complete the turn).

It was highly entertaining because it did not go well at all, and I'm pretty sure that F1 didn't actually finish the full scheduled tour. But it really showed a big difference between old cars and new.

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dralley 5 days ago | parent [-]

The newer cars are definitely bigger and less nimble. 2026 regs help a little bit with that but not quite enough.

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nullify88 5 days ago | parent [-]

Or it maybe due to the cars and their designs being throughly tuned for the tracks they are racing on. More so when compared to previous generations of F1 cars.

	▲	dralley 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		I mean the cars are literally bigger and heavier. Even compared to 2014 / 2017. They're incredibly fast but can't be thrown around like the smaller and lighter cars from previous eras.