WHY FORMULA 1’S FUTURE MIGHT NOT BE SO BLEAK

The Formula 1 championship is entering its final stretch: three races to decide a title that, after an opening phase dominated by McLaren, has suddenly come back to life. And yet, despite the close standings, the 2025 season won’t be remembered for on-track spectacle. With the current regulatory cycle nearing its end, these cars seem to have fallen short of their original promise: promoting overtaking and close racing. Paradoxically, in a year when the gap between the first and last car has been the smallest ever, we’re seeing fewer genuine wheel-to-wheel battles and increasing difficulty in following another car closely.

The causes are many, but the conclusion is simple: the “ground effect” concept as applied to modern F1 hasn’t delivered as hoped. That’s why the arrival of the new 2026 regulations represents a turning point. Many are criticizing them before even seeing them in action, but unlike a number of observers, I’m not pessimistic at all. On the contrary, I believe there are reasons to be cautiously optimistic.

The main concern revolves around the power unit, which from 2026 onward will be split evenly between internal combustion and electric components. It’s a radical shift, certainly — but a necessary one. The current architecture dates back to 2014, an era when electric vehicles were the exception, not the norm. The world has changed since then, and Formula 1 must evolve with it. After all, similar solutions were already tested a decade ago in the World Endurance Championship, with hybrid LMP1 cars producing over 1,000 combined horsepower. Those machines delivered spectacular racing and, despite their high technical complexity, managed to combine speed, efficiency, and competition.

The future F1 cars will have to deal with increased aerodynamic drag, but active aero — controversial as it may be — will help offset that. We’ll likely see more “lift and coast,” yes, but that practice is nothing new. Even today, drivers are required to manage fuel consumption, tires, and brakes. Doing so to recover energy as well won’t fundamentally change the nature of racing — if anything, it could add another strategic layer.

From an aerodynamic standpoint, the return to a flatter floor concept and the abandonment of extreme ride-height setups are steps in the right direction. The cars will be lighter, narrower, shorter, and less sensitive to ride-height changes and curbs. In short, more agile and less “fragile.” This could give drivers greater freedom of interpretation behind the wheel, while also allowing for more authentic wet races, less dictated by the sudden loss of downforce.

The new regulations aren’t perfect, and they probably won’t satisfy those dreaming of a return to the “pure” early-2000s Formula 1 cars. But in today’s context — balancing environmental demands, budget constraints, and technological development — they represent a logical and coherent compromise. Hybrid technology may remain the ideological ballast of modern Formula 1, but it’s also what ensures its industrial survival.

It’s true: the races of the past, like those in 2006 or 2007, had an intensity that now feels lost. Drivers pushed flat-out, lap after lap, and the fight was more about raw talent than management. But that world no longer exists. In this landscape, the 2026 regulations are not a cure-all — but they could offer a new balance: a Formula 1 that’s less artificial, more compact, more in tune with the times — and perhaps, finally, a little more human.

© Simone Marchetti Cavalieri