From Miami, the first corrections to the 2026 regulations will come into force: McLaren’s simulations show how reducing recoverable energy will impact both qualifying—where less battery recharging will be needed—and race battles, with fewer opportunistic overtakes and a greater emphasis on strategic boost usage.
After a long month-long break, Formula 1 returns to the track in Miami for a particularly important weekend, marked by the debut of regulatory changes to the 2026 rules introduced following what emerged during the opening three Grands Prix of the season. The objectives are now clear: allow drivers to push flat-out again in qualifying and reduce speed differentials in wheel-to-wheel battles, without eliminating overtaking opportunities.
Two goals that the FIA and the teams believe they have achieved without making radical changes to the regulations, as there was no intention to alter the core foundations of the new era, starting with the 50/50 split between internal combustion and electric power. This was a deliberate choice, both to protect the investments already made by manufacturers and because such a major shift would require longer timelines, likely targeting 2027.
Nevertheless, the changes introduced in Miami will have a significant impact on both the qualifying lap and race dynamics, forcing teams to rethink overtaking opportunities when defining race strategies. It is a topic McLaren has already analysed in depth, presenting clear examples of how the entire race weekend is set to evolve.
Less lift & coast and super-clipping in qualifying
Compared to 2025, the 2026 cars approach the lap in a completely different way. By exploiting the 350 kW of electric power, top speeds on the straights are not only significantly higher, but are also reached earlier thanks to the instant torque delivered by the MGU-K. However, the limitation lies in the battery, which is relatively small and offers limited recharging opportunities: available energy tends to deplete quickly, causing the electric motor to progressively deliver less power before switching to recovery mode.
These dynamics, as seen for example in the first sector of Suzuka, pushed drivers (and control systems) to sacrifice corners, turning them into opportunities for energy recovery rather than genuine driving challenges. A trend that led many drivers to highlight how, with regulations so focused on energy management, qualifying had lost part of its appeal.
The FIA has worked to bring the driver back to the centre of the action, and the simplest and most immediate solution was to reduce the amount of recoverable energy per lap, thereby making both lift and coast and super-clipping less intrusive. In practical terms, the less energy the power unit can recover, the less incentive there is to resort to extreme recovery techniques.
There is, however, an important clarification: super-clipping—the phenomenon where the MGU-K works against the internal combustion engine at full power on the straights to recharge the battery—will increase from 250 to 350 kW, becoming more effective. However, because the total recoverable energy is reduced, the need to use super-clipping will decrease. According to FIA estimates, its usage will drop from around eight seconds to approximately three to four seconds per lap.
Qualifying changes: less speed loss on the straights
But how will qualifying actually change in practice with the new rules introduced from Miami? To better understand this, McLaren provided a series of comparative graphs showing both the real telemetry trace from a lap completed earlier this season in Australia (in orange) and a simulation of the impact of the new regulations applied to the same circuit (in green).
As shown in the data, with the Miami changes in place, cars will reach lower peak speeds due to reduced available energy. This generates two related effects: with less recoverable energy, the recharging phase becomes less aggressive and occurs later, reducing the pronounced drop in speed at the end of the straights that was previously caused by lift and coast or super-clipping.
This leads to a redistribution of energy along the straight. Although peak speeds are lower, cars will still arrive at braking zones faster than in the opening three rounds, because the internal combustion engine will once again take on its primary role of “pushing” the car forward, rather than being used to recharge the battery through super-clipping as was the case up to Suzuka.
These combined factors will result in a more contained loss of speed along the straights compared to before, although there will still be a lap time cost. According to McLaren, the average deficit will be around two to three tenths of a second, although this figure will vary depending on circuit characteristics. There will also be adjustments to how and when the control electronics reduce power from the MGU-K, ensuring that minor driver errors have less impact on energy usage.
“The effect [of the new rules] is limited, a few tenths at most. It also depends on the circuit. In qualifying, as we have seen in the example, it partly comes from losing some deployment on the straights,” explained Mark Temple, McLaren’s technical director for engineering.
“In the race, we will also have reduced power levels in parts of the circuit that do not include a straight-mode zone [where active aerodynamics can be used], so we will lose some lap time there. However, in those same areas, we will use slightly less energy, which can then be deployed elsewhere. So we are talking about a loss of two to three tenths, but it is track-dependent.”
Race battles change: boost usage becomes far more strategic
The regulatory changes will not be limited to qualifying alone. Following the Suzuka incident involving Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto, the FIA and the teams worked to reduce speed differences in duels between attacking and defending cars, without compromising the overtaking and counter-overtaking battles that fans enjoy.
To address this, two key changes have been introduced. The first concerns areas where active aerodynamics cannot be used: in these sections, electric deployment during the race will be reduced from 350 to 250 kW (even in overtaking mode), while on the straights—where the movable rear wing is allowed—it will remain at 350 kW. In addition, the effectiveness of the boost has been reduced to limit speed differences between attacking and defending cars.
Once again, McLaren produced a graph illustrating how race dynamics and overtaking attempts will evolve, using Miami as a reference example. With less available energy, the strategic use of the MGU-K will have a much greater impact than in the initial version of these regulations.
“Let’s take the section between Turn 1 and Turn 4. If you use boost, under the previous rules you would have achieved a very large increase in top speed, as shown in orange; with the reduction from 350 to 250 kW [because it is an area without active aerodynamics], you instead get the green curve. In those areas, overtaking becomes more difficult. And that is exactly the objective: if there is no straight-mode zone, then it is not a suitable place for overtaking,” Temple explained while illustrating the changes.
“The other modification applies everywhere: now, if you activate boost later—when power peaks at the start of the straight and then begins to decline—previously, pressing the boost button would immediately return you to the full 350 kW. Now, that value is reduced: you either maintain the lower power level you have dropped to, or, if you are below 150 kW, the power increases back up to 150 kW.”
For example, the incident between Bearman and Colapinto occurred in an area where active aerodynamics could not be used. This means that, under the new rules, pressing the boost would not return the MGU-K to the full 350 kW, but to a lower value, reducing the closing speed. As a result, overtakes will now occur in more “traditional” areas of the circuit, similar to previous seasons, where greater energy deployment is available.
“I think we will see fewer somewhat opportunistic overtakes in unusual parts of the track, but I believe it is the right compromise in terms of safety. On the main straight, however, the impact will be largely negligible,” Temple added.
“I think that possibility still exists: if we consider two long straights in succession, such as the straight into Turn 17 and then the one towards Turn 1, you could still have a car that mismanages its boost and uses too much energy, only to be re-overtaken on the following straight. Personally, I see that as a positive aspect—it introduces a stronger strategic element to overtaking. The driver has to think more, and it will reward those who can analyse, learn, and optimise what they are doing.”
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