Just 3 races into the 2026 season, the FIA has already adjusted the brand-new Formula 1 regulations. That tells you everything about how turbulent this rules reset has been.

The 2026 package was meant to be a bold new era for F1. Smaller and lighter cars. Active aerodynamics. A near 50-50 split between combustion and electric power. New overtaking tools shaped around energy deployment. On paper, it sounded futuristic and clever.

In practice, the early reaction has been far more divided.

The racing has produced plenty of overtakes, but not always in a way that felt natural. Drivers have criticised the heavy emphasis on energy management, and fans have been split between enjoying the action and feeling that something about it simply does not look like Formula 1. So now the FIA, teams, power unit manufacturers and Formula One Management have stepped in with a package of refinements aimed at fixing the most awkward parts of the new era.

The core problem with the 2026 rules

The big issue is not that the cars are slower in an absolute sense. It is that the rhythm of a lap has changed.

Instead of flat-out commitment, too many laps have involved lifting, coasting and harvesting energy. Instead of wheel-to-wheel racing being driven mainly by tyre life, braking bravery and car balance, it has too often hinged on who had battery power left and who did not. That created a yo-yo effect where cars traded places because of deployment cycles rather than classic racecraft.

That is where the phrase superclipping became central to the conversation.

What superclipping means, in plain English

Superclipping happens when a driver is flat out, usually near the end of a straight, and switches into energy recovery mode. Rather than sending all available power to the wheels, part of that power is diverted to recharge the battery.

The result is simple enough. The car slows relative to another one that is still deploying energy, and that creates a big speed difference.

Sometimes that has meant dramatic overtakes. But it has also made the racing feel strange, because a pass can look less like a driver setting up a move and more like one car suddenly losing pace by design.

That dynamic drew heavy criticism in the opening rounds. Max Verstappen described the racing as “not very Formula One-like”, comparing it to Formula E on steroids. Fernando Alonso was even more cutting, suggesting the cars had become so artificial that almost anyone could drive them.

When drivers of that calibre are talking like that, the sport has to respond.

The qualifying changes are probably the biggest win

The FIA’s first area of focus is qualifying, and this may prove to be the most important change of all.

The revised rules reduce the maximum permitted recharge from 8 MJ to 7 MJ. The aim is to cut back on excessive energy harvesting and encourage more consistent flat-out driving. Alongside that, the maximum superclip duration will be reduced to roughly 2 to 4 seconds per lap.

There is also a key adjustment to power output. Peak superclip power rises from 250 kW to 350 kW. That sounds aggressive, but the broader effect is to reduce how long drivers need to spend in the awkward harvesting phase.

These same principles will also apply in race conditions.

Why does that matter so much in qualifying? Because pole laps are supposed to look committed. They are supposed to feel natural, fast and unmistakably Formula 1. Even if the stopwatch says the cars are a little slower than in 2025, a cleaner and more authentic-looking lap will do a lot for the sport’s image.

And realistically, if a 2026 lap is 3 seconds slower than the previous generation, most people are not going to notice that from the grandstands or on television unless the cars are directly compared side by side. What people do notice is whether a lap looks like the driver is attacking or just managing systems.

More flexibility for different circuits

Another technical change is less flashy but still important. The number of events where alternative lower energy limits may be used will increase from 8 races to 12.

That gives the FIA more flexibility to tailor energy use to circuit characteristics. Not every track exposes the same weakness in these regulations. Some layouts exaggerate harvesting and deployment effects far more than others. Expanding the number of races where alternative limits can apply is a practical way to reduce the worst behaviours without throwing out the entire rulebook.

Safety became impossible to ignore

The conversation around the new regulations was not just about spectacle. It became about safety too.

Because if one car is deploying and another is harvesting, the speed differentials can be huge. In the first races of the season, that raised concerns about whether drivers were being put in situations with dangerous closing speeds.

The moment that sharpened the debate came at Suzuka with Ollie Bearman’s crash. Drivers had already spoken on the Friday of the Japanese Grand Prix about the need for more respect when there was a major speed difference between cars. The concern was that a defensive move which would normally be acceptable with a 5 to 10 km/h speed gap becomes a very different proposition when the difference is closer to 50 km/h.

That is exactly what made this such a serious issue. Bearman made it clear that he could not remember another time when two cars fighting for position had such an enormous speed differential.

What changes for race starts in Miami

To address start-line risk, the FIA is introducing a new low-power start detection system. This system will identify cars with abnormally low acceleration shortly after clutch release. If that happens, automatic MGU-K deployment will be triggered to ensure a minimum level of acceleration.

Importantly, this is not designed to hand a sporting advantage to a driver who gets away poorly. It is a safety mechanism intended to reduce the risk of a slow-starting car being collected by a faster one from behind.

There will also be an associated visual warning system, with flashing rear and lateral lights on the affected car. That should give trailing drivers a clearer and earlier cue that something is wrong.

The FIA is also resetting the energy counter at the start of the formation lap. That may sound minor, but it fixes a hidden inconsistency that had already been identified. Previously, drivers starting further back could harvest more energy during the formation lap than those near the front, simply because of how the lap counter timing worked.

By forcing a reset exactly when the formation lap begins, every driver starts the race with the same minimal amount of energy. It removes an unfair advantage that existed before the race had even officially started.

These start-specific measures will be used in Miami and then reassessed rather than automatically locked in for the rest of the season.

Wet weather gets its own set of fixes

The FIA has also responded to concerns about low-grip running.

For wet conditions, intermediate tyre blanket temperatures have been increased after driver feedback. That should improve initial grip and tyre performance when the track is damp or greasy.

At the same time, maximum ERS deployment will be reduced in wet weather. That means less torque being delivered in poor grip conditions, which should make the cars calmer and easier to control.

The rear light systems have also been simplified so that visual cues are clearer and more consistent in bad visibility. In heavy spray, anything that improves reaction time for following drivers is a worthwhile adjustment.

Has the racing actually been bad?

That depends on what part of the racing you value most.

There has certainly been action. The number of overtakes in the opening races has been high, and many fans at the circuits have clearly enjoyed the spectacle. But plenty of reaction elsewhere has been far harsher, with criticism aimed at the artificial feel of those passes and the amount of visible energy management.

There have even been reports of significant drops in TV audiences in some markets. Spain reportedly saw close to a 50% drop for Suzuka compared with the previous year. France, Austria and Germany were also said to be down by large margins. If those numbers are accurate, they are serious. Italy, however, apparently saw an increase, helped in part by enthusiasm around Kimi Antonelli.

So no, the sport’s leaders do not appear to believe the 2026 product is fundamentally broken. But they clearly do believe some parts of it looked awkward enough to require immediate intervention.

Why qualifying may be the real test

If these changes work anywhere, qualifying should be where the improvement is easiest to spot.

Less harvesting. Less strange energy compromise. Less interruption to the flow of a lap. That should restore some of the visual purity of Formula 1 driving, even if the actual lap time does not improve.

Racecraft may take longer to assess because overtaking style depends on circuit layout, tyre behaviour, deployment strategy and how quickly teams learn to optimise the revised systems. But qualifying should give a more immediate answer as to whether the FIA has taken a meaningful step in the right direction.

James Vowles has already described the changes as sensible, saying the teams, the FIA and Formula 1 have done good work to agree on them. That is a promising sign, but the real verdict will come once the cars hit the track in Miami.

The bottom line

The FIA has not ripped up the 2026 regulations. It has tried to smooth out the parts that looked least like Formula 1.

• Too much lifting and coasting is being reduced.

• Too much awkward energy management in qualifying is being addressed.

• Dangerous speed differentials are being targeted.

• Slow-start risks are being managed.

• Wet-weather control should improve.

That does not mean the controversy disappears. Far from it. An audience poll on this issue produced a very sceptical result, with 82% saying these refinements will not significantly improve the racing.

So Miami now becomes a genuine test case. If qualifying looks cleaner, overtakes feel less weird, and the paddock stops talking so much about energy management, then these changes will be judged a success. If not, this latest intervention will not be the end of the 2026 regulation drama.

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Photo coverage of the 2026 F1 season

If you want to see how these changing race rhythms look from track level—especially the moments around superclipping, energy-management phases, and qualifying execution—check out Kym Illman’s F1 image galleries. You can browse race-by-race photos and then pick up signed prints or other memorabilia from the online shop: Kym’s Images, and for purchasing options, visit signed prints.

You can also explore the wider product catalog (books, calendars, wall art, and more) at the store, or jump straight to ProStarPics for event collections including categories like Formula 1 and the Miami Grand Prix at ProStarPics.