Australian Grand Prix: Norris, Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton – and will it be good? Main storylines for Formula 1 of 2026

The new rules come with a significant degree of risk even if they actually succeed in achieving their primary goal.

When Formula 1 was designing the new engines, the idea was to attract more car manufacturers to the sport, especially the Volkswagen Group.

So the engines were simplified in their structure, and the electrical part of the engine became more important.

As a result, Audi entered the sport, acquiring the Sauber team. Its official debut this season marks the first time the VW Group has entered Formula 1. Porsche, another VW brand that was also planning to enter, did not do so, after its talks with Red Bull collapsed.

But Ford chose to return to take Porsche’s place as Red Bull’s partner, and its American competitor, General Motors, entered with a completely new team bearing its brand name, Cadillac.

So far, so good.

However, the engine rules, which create a roughly 50-50 split between the internal combustion and electric parts of the engine, come with some compromises.

The combination of an electrical system that has three times the power of last year but with a battery of about the same size or less means the cars are power-hungry.

Attempts to make energy recovery easier have led to movable front and rear wings to reduce drag on the straights, as well as a complex series of rules and strategies, which certainly risk confusing the public.

The need for a large amount of energy management has upset drivers who complain about unusual driving techniques.

There are different ways to recover and spread energy. Drivers can access a “boost” mode for short bursts of maximum power, and an “overtake” mode, which within one second of the vehicle ahead allows the driver to recover more energy and gives maximum power for a longer period.

Since the electric motor can now deliver 350 kilowatts (470 hp), and the cars will drain and regenerate their batteries several times in a cycle, a fully charged car will have nearly twice as much power as a car with a dead battery.

The danger is that overtaking will be much more difficult, between cars with similar power levels, and ridiculously easy, between cars with a large power differential.

It is not known how this will affect the race and how wrong it will be.