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The criticism of the 2026 Formula 1 regulations is no longer just coming from drivers. Dutch F1 commentator Olav Mol has put forward a specific set of technical proposals he believes would address the most dangerous and frustrating aspects of the current rules without fundamentally breaking the concept.
What Mol Is Actually Proposing
Mol published his ideas on X and they centre on reducing the peaks and spikes created by the current electrical system. The key changes he outlined are as follows. The maximum power output of the MGU-K would drop from 350 kW to 200 kW, while the maximum charging rate would remain at 350 kW. Energy storage would be reduced from 9 MJ to 6 MJ, and the slew rate, which governs how quickly power can be added or removed, would be halved to 50 kW per second. The ratio between electrical and combustion power would also shift from the current 50/50 split to 36/64 in favour of the combustion engine.
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What the Numbers Would Mean on Track
According to simulations based on these parameters, the changes would produce a meaningfully different driving experience. Top speed heading into braking zones would settle around 328 km/h. More importantly, the phenomenon known as superclipping, where drivers lose power mid-straight because the battery runs empty, would disappear entirely. That is the single biggest cause of the sudden speed differences that have been creating dangerous situations throughout the season.
The impact on lap times would be relatively modest. Cars would be around 1.4 seconds per lap slower than they currently are, which is within acceptable margins for a sport that is always balancing spectacle against technical complexity.
Formula 1 Would Still Be in a Different League
Crucially, even with these reduced electrical limits, Formula 1 cars would remain approximately eight seconds per lap faster than a Formula 2 car. The changes would not diminish the spectacle of the top category. They would just make it safer and more predictable for the drivers trying to race within it. Whether the FIA adopts anything like this proposal remains to be seen, but Mol's simulation at least demonstrates that there is room to act without dismantling what the 2026 regulations were designed to achieve.
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