Archive
1
The F1 gearbox, explained
Eight gears, two paddles, no clutch pedal: how F1's seamless-shift gearbox works, and why the old six-race rule just disappeared.
2
The F1 steering wheel, explained
It costs more than a family car, carries no airbag, and a driver can win or lose a race with his thumbs alone.
3
Brake bias in F1: how drivers shift stopping power, explained
A single dial on the steering wheel decides whether a driver trusts the front axle or the rear one, and getting it wrong costs a spin or a straight line into the gravel.
4
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.*
5
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.
6
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.
7
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.
8
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.
9
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.
10
ERS in F1, explained
The hybrid system that turns braking heat and exhaust gas into a 160-horsepower shove down the straight, and why 2026 is about to simplify it.