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F1 has unveiled the official vocabulary that will be used to reference the advanced features of its new 2026 rulebook.

The championship is introducing what is potentially the biggest rules overhaul in its long history next season, featuring revised car and engine specifications and the mandatory use of fully sustainable fuels.

The new power units, which retain the hybrid V6 layout, boast a significantly increased battery power, requiring significant developments in the vehicles' aerodynamic design.

Throughout races, pilots will strategically manage ERS energy – potentially on qualifying laps – to achieve the best result.

Wide-ranging research were conducted with a diverse audience, including long-time followers and newcomers, to identify which phrases would improve understanding of the key features of the 2026 changes.

The key objective was to render a set of intricate new areas of the sport as straightforward as possible for the widest audience.

Consequently, previous placeholder terms for certain devices – such as "alphabetical mode names" for the moveable wings – have been discarded in favor of intuitive labels that directly explain the primary purpose of the technology.

Key Technical Innovations

The FIA states that drivers will have increased agency to choose strategies regarding battery management, energy recovery, and conservation.

The new regulations feature a set of functions that will be visually displayed on broadcast screens to aid the fans' insight of the race battle.

• Attack Mode: This supersedes the present overtaking aid. It provides a surge of additional ERS power accessible when a driver is less than a second the car ahead to assist with an overtaking maneuver.
• Boost Mode: This is a manual power boost from the hybrid system that can be utilized during overtaking or defending. It delivers the driver maximum power at the push of a button.

Both of these crucial modes will have to be managed carefully, as the overall battery capacity is strictly limited.

• Active Aero: Both the front and rear wings change configuration – flattening on the straights for low aerodynamic resistance and top speed, and closing in the bends for peak grip.
• Battery Recharge: Cars can replenish their battery with power recovered from braking, or during coasting at the conclusion of a straight or in sections where only reduced throttle is used.

2026 Car Specifications

The vehicles for the new era will be smaller and lighter compared to the 2025 spec, with a wheelbase cut by 200mm to 3,400mm, overall width reduced by 100mm – down to 1,900mm – and the car weight reduced by 30kg.

Cumulative downforce is expected to drop by approximately 15-30%, although teams will naturally regain performance as they refine their designs.

Aerodynamic drag has been reduced by 40%. The vehicles will employ active aerodynamics – both wings will open on the straight sections to cut resistance and boost top speed and return into place for peak handling.

Wheels will keep 18-inch rims, but the actual tyres will be slimmer, by 25 millimetres on the front axle and 30mm at the rear.

2026 Engine Regulations

The revised hybrid units will have an roughly half-and-half distribution in horsepower generated by the petrol engine and the electrical system, up from about one-fifth electric power under present rules.

The hybrid system is made less complex through the elimination of the MGU-H, the sophisticated and pricey component that generated electricity from the turbocharger.

All vehicles will be required to run on carbon-neutral fuel, produced using plant-based materials or synthetic production methods.