Formula 1 is to simplify key aspects of its forthcoming 2026 rulebook, in a bid to get fans up to speed with the complexities before lights out in Melbourne in March.
2026 sees F1 enter a new generation via a new set of technical regulations that will be the biggest shake-up of the sport since 2014.
With the sport putting the seal on its new regulations via the World Motor Sport Council, there is undeniably a plethora of new elements that will be brand new to fans.
The new hybrid engines – which will now have a 50-50 divide between ICE and electric power – will require drivers to conserve energy in every single lap of the race.
This means that, along with the outlawing of DRS, there will be a set of modes to help drivers on both straights and in the corners.
These were initially referred to as ‘X’ and ‘Y’ Modes, and were then given colloquial terms of ‘straight-line’ and ‘cornering’ modes, but both appear set to be banished.
F1 and the FIA have discussed the options in place to find a fixed name for these terms that they hope will be simple and universally referred to.
“We are revising some of the terminology of this because we want to make it clear that we want to make it simple for the fans to understand what’s happening,” explained the FIA’s Single Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis.
“We want to have a unified terminology used by the teams when they speak to the drivers on the radio, but also by the commentators on TV, and also the same terminology in the regulations.
“So we are doing an exercise now to make sure that we create simple terminology.
“I don’t want to get now into the exact [specifics of] what each one of these terms will be now, because we are collaborating also with some other stakeholders on that, but we are looking at that.”
Likely names for the new modes used by F1 2026 cars
As per The Race, it appears that the ‘manual override mode’ – acronymed MOM – will not be used, to avoid confusion with its effective status as the replacement of DRS.
It is likely that this will be renamed ‘overtake’ mode, with ‘boost’ referring to the mode that will be used by drivers on the straights, using battery energy.
The previous ‘X’/’straight-line’ and ‘Y’/’cornering’ modes will now likely be known as ‘active aero’, as the wings will be the same modes on straights and corners anyway.
Usage of a singular term will also carry extra importance as there may be constant referral to them in both TV commentary and the accompanying on-screen graphics.
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