F1 Barcelona Grand Prix: Brace yourselves, super clipping is back

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Miami, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

Barcelona Grand Prix

Brace yourselves - super clipping is back with a vengeance at the Barcelona GP

Super clipping is back for Barcelona

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 10 June 2026 13:57

An unpopular element of the new F1 cars and regulations - super clipping - will be back with a vengeance at this weekend's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Super clipping is the state where cars can harvest energy while remaining at full throttle, usually at the end of a straight or into high-speed corners, at the cost of a reduction of speed.

It is this facet of the new regulations that has drawn the ire of Max Verstappen, who has decreed the new way of driving as 'anti-racing' and 'not fun'.

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Super clipping is more prevalent at high-speed circuits such as Albert Park (Australian Grand Prix) and Suzuka (Japanese Grand Prix), whereas in recent grands prix it has been less of an issue.

In Monaco for example, super clipping was less of an issue due to the shorter straights and low speed corners, lessening the need for energy management compared to previous races.

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Williams: Super clipping is back

Ahead of the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, Williams revealed in their race weekend preview that super clipping would be back, and significantly so in Spain.

They wrote: "A reasonable amount of super clip is expected in the race, and teams may use lift-and-coast to help control this. This has not been a challenge in the last couple of races."

The characteristics of the Barcelona circuit mean that energy management will once again be a major factor, with the track composed of several high-speed corners which are followed by long straights.

Will FIA rule tweaks minimise super clipping fears?

Following F1's hiatus in April, the FIA introduced a series of rule tweaks for the Miami Grand Prix, aimed at reducing issues such as super clipping.

Adjustments were made to energy management parameters, targeting a maximum super clip duration reduced to approximately 2-4 seconds per lap.

Alongside this, peak super clip power was also increased to 350kW, previously being 250kW, to further reduce the time spent recharging, and to reduce driver workload on energy management.

F1 Williams 2026 regulations Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Barcelona-Catalunya Grand prix