Explained
The glossary
Plain-English answers to what the timing screens actually mean — one idea at a time.
1
6 MIN
F1 brakes explained: the heat window and brake-by-wire
*Carbon brakes only work in a narrow band of heat, and on the rear axle the pedal isn't talking to the discs at all, it's talking to a computer.*
2
5 MIN
Porpoising in F1, explained
The 2022 ground-effect cars found a way to make downforce and discomfort arrive in the same violent rhythm, and it took a season of regulation to beat it out of them.
3
6 MIN
F1 ground effect, explained: the floor that steals the wing's job
The fastest cars on the grid don't suck grip from their wings anymore, they suck it from the road itself, and that idea nearly killed the sport twice.
4
4 MIN
The F1 floor and diffuser, explained
How a flat piece of carbon fibre under the car generates more downforce than the wings, and why a few millimetres of ride height decide whether it works or bites back.
5
4 MIN
The F1 rear wing, explained
One flap decides whether a car is built for Monaco's hairpins or Monza's straights, and in 2026 that flap does more of the talking than ever.
6
5 MIN
The F1 front wing, explained: downforce, wake control and repairs
It's the first thing the air meets and often the first thing to break, so here's what the front wing actually does and what a crew can touch without breaking parc fermé.
7
4 MIN
The F1 turbocharger, explained
One turbo, two jobs: force air into a tiny engine and, until 2026, erase the lag that used to define turbo racing.
8
4 MIN
The F1 energy store (battery), explained
It weighs about as much as a checked suitcase, sits inside the safest part of the car, and decides how hard a driver can lean on the electric boost lap after lap.
9
6 MIN
MGU-H in F1, explained (and why it's gone for 2026)
It was the cleverest part of the modern F1 engine, and 2026 killed it, bringing back a problem the sport thought it had solved a decade ago.
10
5 MIN
The MGU-K in F1: what it is and how 2026 changed it
The crankshaft-mounted motor that turns braking into boost, and why its 2026 power hike rewired how F1 cars slow down.
11
5 MIN
The F1 hybrid system, explained: brake to boost
Every lap is a battery cycle: brake hard, bank the energy, then decide exactly when to spend it back.
12
5 MIN
The F1 power unit explained: six parts and a grid penalty
Six sealed components make up every F1 engine, and in 2026 the FIA tore up the recipe that had stood since 2014.