🔗 Share this article Active Aero & Overtake Mode - Explaining F1's New Regulatory Terminology The vehicles for the 2026 season are designed to be lighter, more agile and sustainable than this year. The world of Formula 1 has revealed the official language that will be used to explain the advanced features of its new 2026 technical rules. The sport is introducing what is arguably the biggest rules overhaul in its long history starting in 2026, featuring new chassis and engine rules and the mandatory use of fully sustainable fuels. The updated 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrids, which maintain the 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid, boast a greatly enhanced electrical capacity, necessitating key advancements in the cars' aerodynamics. Over a race distance, drivers will carefully oversee electrical energy – potentially on qualifying laps – to extract the optimal lap time. Broad surveys were conducted with a wide range of fans, including new, casual and core fans, to understand which terminology would aid comprehension of the key features of the upcoming rules. The key objective was to make a set of intricate features of the sport as easy to grasp as possible for the global fanbase. Consequently, initial designations for specific components – such as "x-mode and z-mode" for the active aerodynamics – have been abandoned in favour of descriptive names that succinctly convey the actual function of the system. What's the New Technology? Regulators explain that racers will have increased agency to choose strategies regarding power usage, harvesting, and saving energy. The new regulations mandate a series of modes that will be shown on TV overlays to improve the fans' insight of the race battle. Passing Mode: This supersedes the existing Drag Reduction System. It provides a surge of additional ERS power available when a car is within one second the car ahead to assist with an overtake. Power Mode: This is a manual power boost from the hybrid system that can be deployed for attack or defence. It delivers the pilot full engine and battery energy at the click of a switch. Both of these strategic tools will have to be managed carefully, as the total energy is capped. Active Aerodynamics: Both the front and rear wings move automatically – opening on the straights for low aerodynamic resistance and top speed, and angling down in the bends for optimal cornering performance. Recharge: Cars can harvest energy with regenerative braking, or during coasting at the end of straights or in sections where only limited engine output is used. What's Changing on the Cars? The 2026 cars will be reduced in size and weight relative to current models, with a car length reduced by 200mm to 3,400mm, width cut by 100mm – down to 1,900mm – and the lowest permissible weight decreased by 30kg. Cumulative downforce is anticipated to be reduced by approximately a significant margin, although teams will undoubtedly recover some as they refine their designs. Air resistance has been slashed by 40%. The cars will feature adjustable aero systems – both wings will move on the straights to reduce drag and increase straightline speed and click back into place for peak handling. Wheels will retain the current rim size, but the tyres themselves will be slimmer, by 25 millimetres on the front axle and 30mm at the rear. 2026 Engine Regulations The new power units will have an roughly half-and-half distribution in horsepower generated by the petrol engine and the ERS, a rise from about 20% battery contribution in the current formula. The ERS setup is streamlined through the deletion of the Motor Generator Unit – Heat, the intricate and expensive unit that recovered energy from the turbocharger. Every car on the grid will be mandated to operate on fully sustainable fuel, created from plant-based materials or lab-created processes.