Rules overhaul will see faster cars but slower lap times.
The rules overhaul, one of the biggest in living memory, will see a 50/50 split in terms of ICE and electric power in cars which are smaller and lighter, and featuring active aero and smaller tyres.
Drivers have already expressed fears that - for them - the focus will be on power management as opposed to flat-out racing, while early simulations do indeed indicate a drop in pace.
"I do get a bit surprised by how much emphasis is put on the actual lap times," the FIA's single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis tells Motorsport.com. "We've had various phases of the sport when cars have been slower or faster, and I think once you are used to it, it's okay.
"If you walk out of a simulator or in real life, go from one car to another car that is one second and a half slower, you initially think 'this is not a good car'," he continues, "because you feel that second and a half. But I think once you've driven that a bit, then it actually doesn't matter.
"I really don't think the lap times are going to be a factor once people get used to these cars," he insists. "I think it's a comment you make initially when you see the delta, but I don't think it will be a factor frankly, nor will it be hugely different from now.
"In our simulations the new cars will be between one and two-and-a-half seconds slower at the start of the regulations, and clearly there will be evolution that will make them gain speed," he adds.
"In fairness, we don't have data from all the teams," he admits, "so we don't know the exact levels of downforce from all the teams. Potentially, some teams that don't get it right initially may be a bit slower than our simulations, but we don't expect lap times to be a talking point."
From next season the dreaded DRS is out, only to be replaced with active aerodynamics and yet another gimmick, the push-to-pass Manual Override Mode, which effectively does what is says on the tin.
"This is one of the things we are doing now, when drivers are testing these cars in the simulator," he explains. "What we are generally working on with the teams and the simulations, is to make sure that the extra boost you get keeps overtaking always on the difficult side.
"Difficult but feasible," he adds, "rather than too easy where you just drive past somebody on the straights, or too difficult, where you don't manage to get close enough at the braking point.
"The fine-tuning that is taking place at the moment is to ensure that this override boost gives you just about the right amount to be able to get to that point. It won't be the same for each circuit, but that is exactly the work that is taking place at the moment."
Meanwhile, Mercedes technical director, James Allison believes the overhaul will see a massive increase in top speeds, a view shared by Toto Wolff.
"When the full power is called up, we will scratch the 400 km/h limit," said the Austrian recently.
"These are cars with a flat underbody and a step in the middle," Allison tells Auto Motor und Sport. "You can't seal them as tightly on the sides as you can with the current cars, that makes it harder to maintain the low-pressure zone under the car.
"The Venturi effect will be less pronounced," he adds. "Nevertheless, the 2026 cars are not a carbon copy of what we saw in the era before 2022. They lie somewhere in between then and now."
In reaction to early claims by the drivers in terms of 'driveability', he says: "The handling will be more comfortable than with the current cars. There will be fewer balance shifts between slow and fast corners and between turning in and accelerating. It will be easier to keep understeer and oversteer where you want it."
However...
"Coming out of the corners, the car accelerates like crazy," says Aston Martin reserve Felipe Drugovich in terms of the torque provided by the electric powered side of the new power units. "You feel like you're sitting on a rocket.
"It's really fun in the corners because there's always power available due to the high proportion of electric power," the Brazilian added. "It takes some getting used to the fact that the power suddenly drops off in the second half of the straight."
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