I've played F1 25 2026 Season Pack - devs have nailed the most crucial thing | indy100

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The new 2026 Formula One regulations have certainly divided opinion because of how much energy management plays a crucial role. More weighting than ever has been put into electric power, meaning how drivers use this heavily affects how much power they have at key moments.

It's now rarely a case of F1 drivers going as fast as they can to the flag. Tyre management already had a lot to say about this and this year's increased energy management focus has taken this to a whole new level.

That's because when energy is deployed, it offers a significant power advantage. However it drains the battery more quickly and having no battery significantly reduces the power at the driver's disposal.

So drivers may use as much power as possible to get past a car - to only then have no battery and get passed by again. This is why yo-yoing is a term that's been heard a lot this year.

There are some that say this has helped Formula One to have more overtakes than in previous years whereas others argue it robs the true nature of racing as it's now more than ever before about management over pure racing skill.

Wherever you sit on this, EA Sports developers have the unenviable task of including this in F1 25 2026 Season Pack.

After spending an hour or so with it so far, it seems they've absolutely nailed it and I've been having some incredibly satisfying races, more often than I have done in previous entires.

For this preview, a PC code was provided by the publisher and I played this on my gaming PC, which has AMD RYZEN 7 9800X3D CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, 32GB RAM and 2TB SSD on an ASUS ROG STRIX XG27ACMS 27" monitor.

EA confirmed back in November 2025 developers it be skipping a new standalone Formula One game for the 2026 season, instead releasing DLC for EA Sports F1 25. To play the expansion, players will also need to have the base game installed.

The cars have active aerodynamics with cornering and straight modes. These can be manually switched between or be done for you with assists. This acts like having DRS points on every lap so there isn't the biggest change from last year's cars in terms of how this is controlled in the expansion.

With the 2026 cars having much less downforce than last year's, grip feels very different. At high speeds, the cars do not turn as well or grip as they did previously, meaning you need to scrub off a lot more speed than before.

Traction is a lot more sensitive because of this and spinning is even easier to do than last year's if you play without any traction control assists on.

But, without doubt, the biggest change like in real life is how much of a role energy management plays. And this actually translates fantastically well to a game.

You can't race in the 2026 Season Pack like you would F1 25 or a previous title. You have to learn how to manage the energy or you will not be fast. Energy can be managed by lifting and coasting into corners and taking it steadier on the throttle, feeding it instead of going at maximum speed.

You can use all your energy to gain an early advantage but you may then pay the price in the next few laps as others have more energy than you. This might sound like a lot to think about on top of everything else you're already accustomed to but it adds a new dimension which I can't get enough of.

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I've played a handful of Grands Prix and it's so interesting seeing how this translates. At Monza and Suzuka, you have to manage a lot more than Budapest or Monaco for example, meaning you need different approaches for different tracks.

You can drive more flat out where energy management is not required as much than somewhere where it is. Learning where to boost in the right areas and at just the right time is crucial, especially with overtake mode.

This is where the power at your disposal increases for one lap if you're within a second of the car in front - however it depletes your battery even more quickly so using this at the perfect element is crucial.

It makes on-track action much more frantic and I've already found myself having unforgettable races against the AI. At Monza, I used up a lot of energy to get from eighth to first in the first half of a lap and then had to manage like crazy to stay there until the finish, which I only managed by a whisker.

In Monaco, I could actually overtake! Deploying the battery at just the right moments gave me such a crucial advantage - and yes, you still have to manage even around Monaco.

Clipping is perhaps the most annoying thing about F1 this year - when cars start decelerating from a speed they've reached because they have no more energy left. This is prevalent at tracks like Suzuka but I didn't encounter this at Monza so I'll need to test this out more before passing judgment on it.

As mentioned, all of the energy management can all be done for you with an assist toggled - but I would absolutely urge all players to learn and get to grips with it themselves as this is where the thrill of this year's regulations lies in the game. It makes for some fantastic racing and you would honestly be missing out if you have this assist on.

I'm still a bit on the fence on the 2026 regulations themselves but actually playing with cars that have them and feeling what they're like for myself in the 2026 Season Pack has given me a whole new respect for them. It seems the devs have nailed bringing this to life and I can't wait to play through more.

The 2026 Season Pack has all the latest track updates and inclusions, including the all new Madring, but that new track was not available during this preview.

With the expansion itself, the 2026 Season Pack acts like a standalone mode. They are completely separate, meaning if you start a career in F1 25 hoping it will then switch to the new cars a season in, this will not happen.

Instead, to experience the F1 2026 cars, you will have to go into the separate mode and start a new career. There are new practice programs and race objectives to achieve in this new career mode.

There are some omissions in the 2026 Season Pack, with it being DLC and not a full game.

Developers have confirmed there will be no ranked multiplayer, F1 World, co-op career, leagues, vendor goals or challenge career. These will only be accessible with the older cars in EA Sports F1 25.

EA Sports F1 25 2026 Season Pack releases on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on 3 June.

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