Override mode and other changes to engine regulations

The FIA ​​must publish new technical regulations for Formula 1 by June 30, which will come into force in 2026. It is expected that the new generation of cars will be lighter and not as wide as the current ones. The tires also need to be narrower. Admittedly, there are rumors that the introduction of active aerodynamics may be postponed, but this has not yet been officially confirmed.

One of the main innovations in 2026 will be the transition to next-generation power plants, and this part of the technical regulations has been approved a long time ago, so for almost two years engine builders have been intensively developing such engines, but the Recently a number of interesting innovations became known that will be implemented in it.

In particular, the latest edition of the power plant regulations introduced a provision for a mode called Override Mode (which can be interpreted as “overload mode”), and it is intended for the fastest routes.

Apparently this was some kind of response to criticism from Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. After the very first encounter on the simulator with a virtual model of the new power plant, the three-time world champion was dissatisfied with the fact that he had to switch to a lower gear on the straights on a circuit like Monza, as this was the only way to achieve a achieve more or less efficient battery charging. Naturally, this was accompanied by an inevitable drop in pace.

Red Bull proposed their own solution to the problem, which would require an increase in massive fuel consumption, but the FIA ​​and engine manufacturers did not support this idea, and the power balance between the internal combustion engine and the hybrid part of the power installation remained same as initially: 400 kW to 350 kW.

But the federation, after analyzing Red Bull Racing’s claims, also came to the conclusion that on some circuits the energy from the electrical part of the power plant will indeed not be sufficient to keep speeds at the usual level for Formula 1 . At the same time, chassis regulations seem to suggest that speeds should not drop noticeably, as the aerodynamics of the cars will become more efficient and the weight of the cars themselves will decrease.

“We want to ensure that on circuits with very long straights, the energy on the straights is used more evenly and is not completely consumed in the beginning,” said Nicolas Tombasis, technical director of the FIA, in the Austrian publication Motorsport-Magazin.

The problem is that the battery energy has remained at the same level – 4 megajoules, while the power of the electrical part of the power plants has tripled and the amount of energy stored in the recovery process is limited, so there is simply not enough of it to to provide extra acceleration over the entire length of the circle. It was this problem, which is most acute on high-speed circuits, that Max Verstappen drew attention to.

To combat this undesirable phenomenon, certain adjustments have been made in the 6th edition of the engine regulations. One of the most important changes concerns energy consumption on highways.

On those circuits, where the driver covers more than 3500 meters at full throttle each lap, other rules apply that differ from the rules that apply on ‘normal’ circuits. The additional energy provided by the MGU-K motor generator is released at half the speed: 50 kW per second. On other routes this figure reaches 100 kW per second.

With a maximum power of the hybrid part of 350 kW, you can drive at full throttle for at least 7 seconds and only after this period does the electric motor stop supplying extra energy to the combustion engine. Consequently, the energy will be more evenly distributed along the straight sections and the maximum speed will not be reached in the middle of such sections, but closer to the braking zone.

The federation will develop more detailed explanations of how all this will be regulated and to which routes such rules will apply. But we can already assume that they will be used in Jeddah, Silverstone, Spa, Monza, Baku and Las Vegas, i.e. on circuits with the longest straights.

In this case, the battery charging capacity of the combustion engine will also be limited to 100 kW, so that the combustion engine does not consume too much fuel during the energy storage process. The maximum recuperation energy during braking remains the same: 350 kW.

The FIA ​​​​also changed the mode in which the hybrid part of the power plant provides the car with extra acceleration.

“We wanted to make sure the cars didn’t reach crazy speeds on some tracks,” Tombasis explains. “Now this is also under control.”

At speeds of 290 to 340 km/h, the power of the hybrid part decreases linearly from 350 to 100 kW. At speeds between 340 and 345 km/h, the extra power gradually drops from 100 kW to 0 kW. At higher speeds, only the combustion engine works.

However, there is one important exception, which was discussed above: the rider has a special Override Mode at his disposal. It should not be confused with the overtaking mode, where the pilot, in order to get ahead of the opponent’s car, activates the maximum power mode by pressing a special button. This feature will continue into 2026, and Override mode will also appear.

How it will work, how often and how long it can be used will be determined later by the FIA ​​​​and these rules will be included in the sporting regulations.