(Motorsport-Total.com) – In the 2026 Formula 1 season, the driver is intended to be even more at the center than in past years. This was even cited as one of the key pillars of the new rules. Drivers have more tools at their disposal than ever before, which initially raised questions about the workload behind the steering wheel.
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However, FIA technical director Nikolas Tombazis made it clear last year that, in his view, this can certainly serve to differentiate driver performance more strongly.
“I think a balance needs to be found between driving as a chess game of energy management – which we don’t want as one extreme – and the other extreme, where driving consists only of a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, and a brake pedal.”
The latter, Tombazis emphasized, was also not the intention. In his view, Formula 1 should not become too easy. Drivers with greater mental capacity during a race should be able to gain a competitive advantage – something that, according to Tombazis, has always been part of the sport.
“And it’s not just now; the mental capacity of drivers has been a factor for twenty years – even in the early days of my career when I worked with [Michael] Schumacher, for example,” he says.
“I mean, he was obviously phenomenally talented, but a big part of what set him apart was that he could also think about all these other things during a race.”
How much freedom do drivers have in energy management?
While it is undeniably true that this has always been part of Formula 1, two questions remain open based on the first impressions of 2026. First: How much of it actually depends on the driver?
After the test days in Barcelona, Esteban Ocon explained that much depends on preparation and that the person behind the wheel even has to show a certain amount of discipline. Given the current state of energy management, it is crucial to determine before the weekend what the most efficient approach will be.
Behind the wheel, according to Ocon, the driver’s task is to execute this plan as well as possible.
The 2026 Formula 1 cars in their final designs on the racetrack
“I think we will have more input before the session to place the power delivery where we want it, where it’s more efficient and where we feel faster. Once the session starts, it’s actually entirely up to the engineers to make it work,” says the Haas pilot.
“I would say 20-80: 20 percent is up to us, 80 percent to the engineers. When driving, you have to respect the system, but we currently have such good tools to comply with everything we need to do that it’s not that complicated to follow.”
The optimal approach differs from racetrack to racetrack. McLaren team principal Andrea Stella distinguished between “harvesting poor” and “harvesting rich” tracks.
Bahrain fell into the latter category, meaning drivers could recover almost all energy during braking. Melbourne will be a different story due to its faster layout. There, according to many drivers, more “lift and coast” will be required to achieve the fastest possible lap time.
In duels on the track, however, drivers have much more room to make a difference themselves, as it is more about tactical thinking than in recent years. Andrea Kimi Antonelli explained that in a wheel-to-wheel duel, you have to anticipate what the opponent will do and then adjust your own energy usage accordingly to maximize the chances for an overtaking maneuver.
F1 must remain the ultimate challenge for man and machine
This immediately raises a second question: Is this the way fans want drivers to be able to make a difference?
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Among others, Max Verstappen has stated that, in his opinion, this tactical driving feels more like Formula E. He would rather see Formula 1 drivers fighting at the limit of what’s possible – although it must be said that tire management has long been a limiting factor.
Braking as late as possible, carrying as much speed as possible through the corners, and getting on the gas as early as possible – according to Verstappen, this should still be the core of Formula 1: the combination of man and machine in search of the limit.
George Russell – who has been relatively positive about the new regulations so far – pointed out that this will not necessarily be the fastest approach under the new rules. On some tracks, it is no longer the best strategy for the overall lap time to drive through a corner as fast as possible.
“There are cases where you consume more energy and recover less if you drive faster through the corners. Thus, looking at the entire lap, you end up with less energy available. You might gain a few tenths in the corners but possibly lose a few tenths on the straight,” said the Mercedes pilot.
When these remarks were put to Verstappen during a Dutch media round in Bahrain, the Red Bull driver replied: “Yes, it’s more or less like that. And that makes no sense at all, does it?”
“In certain corners and on certain tracks, you’re better off driving a bit slower through a corner to recover more energy for the straight. Sorry, but that belongs in Formula E.”
There are positives, but …
This hits the heart of the matter: Which skills does a Formula 1 driver need most in 2026, and in what way should they be able to make a difference behind the wheel? Most purists would argue that it should still primarily come down to ultimate car control and constantly pushing the limits.
In this regard, these cars have two positive aspects. First, they are slightly smaller and lighter, which should benefit wheel-to-wheel duels. Second, they have significantly less downforce, which means drivers – especially given the immense acceleration out of corners – slide more.
On the onboard footage, it can already be seen that drivers are fighting more with the steering wheel than last year, which is a positive development compared to the ground-effect machines that at times seemed to drive as if on rails.
For now, however, energy management overshadows most of these positive elements – and that is exactly what Formula 1 must guard against. Ultimately, the best driver in the field should still be rewarded, not the best manager.
There is already a world championship for managing a limited amount of energy, which means Formula 1 must remain the ultimate challenge for man and machine. And this core value – no matter how complex the technical regulations may be – must never be lost.
Yes, legendary drivers like Schumacher and Senna could indeed use their extra brain capacity, as Tombazis said. But they could use it to think strategically with the team or outsmart their rivals in duels on the track – not for unnatural situations, such as driving slower through a certain corner because it brings better lap times.
And that is an important difference.
According to Stella, the solution to all this doesn’t necessarily have to be drastic. In race trim, the electrical power could theoretically be reduced to 250 kW to ensure that drivers are less “energy poor” at the end of the straights, and Stella himself advocated for increasing “super clipping” to 350 kW – which would require less “lift and coast” and fewer unnatural elements behind the wheel.
Either way, this aspect should be kept firmly in view. Yes, the driver should be able to make a bigger difference in 2026 – but preferably through pure driving skill and not by becoming half a manager.
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