FIA “nimble” 2026 F1 car claim is ludicrous. Formula One cars have over the years become behemoths when compared to cars of yesteryear. In 1995 the minimum eight of the car including the driver was set at 595kg and over the next 19 years the cars crept up in weight by an additional 47kg. In 2014 the introduction of the V6 turbo hybrids saw the cars leap in single year by 52kg and now the 2024 cars are a whopping 798kg including the driver and 898kg with the maximum fuel load.

Today the FIA trumpeted its new regulations for 2026 claiming the intention was to make the cars more “nimble”. The wheelbase will be reduced from 3600mm to 3400mm, and the width of the current monsters from 2000mm to 1900mm. Additionally, the maximum floor width will be decreased by 150mm, removing the ugly sticky out bits which we see on the cars today.

 

 

 

Less drag more overtaking

F1 will continue using the 18-inch wheel size introduced in 2022, however  front tyre width will be reduced in width by 25mm and the rear tyres by 30mm. The stated aim is to maintain the current grip levels. The big regulation change for 2022 saw the cars produce less vortices creating ‘dirty air’ behind the rear wings, making overtaking easier. Yet as the teams got to grip with the rules, this ground has been lost and the drivers this year in testing reported they were almost as bad.

In an attempt to once again improve the battles on track, the new aero rules are designed to cut the current levels of downforce by 30% and drag by 55% and DRS will be dropped.

The front wing will be narrower and the both front and rear wing will have moveable elements which have been designed to reduce the dirty air. The beam wing which sits underneath at the rear of the car will also be dropped.

The wheel arches are set to go and there will be ‘inwashing’ wake control boards in front of the side pods. Currently the car designs create ‘outwash’ which directs the air around the side of the car adding to the votcies the following driver experiences.

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Ground effect stiff suspension gone

These new aerodynamic moveable wings can be deployed in Z-mode for greater cornering speeds and X-mode be used on the straights reducing drag and maximise top speed.

Also, ground effect which creates about 50% of the current downforce levels will be reduced. This will be done by returning to partially flat floors under the car which will mean the ultra-stiff and low ride heights the teams have had to design for the ground effect cars, will become redundant.

There will be improved safety features including a two stage front impact structure and more protection from any potential side intrusions. The roll hoop load capacity will increase from 16G’s to 20G and the rear wing endplate lights which flash during harvesting electrical power will be brighter.

“With this set of regulations, the FIA has sought to develop a new generation of cars that are fully in touch with the DNA of Formula 1,” commented Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater director.

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FIA claims cars will ‘lighter’

“Cars that are light, supremely fast and agile but which also remain at the cutting edge of technology, and to achieve this we worked towards what we called a ‘nimble car’ concept.

Tombazis claims these “lighter cars” will be more powerful and require increased driver skill to drive: “The 2026 FIA Formula One Technical Regulations have been designed to provide closer racing among drivers, increase the competition between teams and to improve the spectacle.”

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem added: “Our aim, together with Formula 1, was to produce a car that was right for the future of the sport’s elite category. We believe we have achieved that goal.”

Of course for the first time in F1 history there is also a huge change in the power unit specifications. The battery will deliver 300% more output and the balance between the internal combustion engine and the electrical output is set to be around 50/50. Yet there have been concerns that at times the traditional engine will be acting like a generator to create electrical power, which for some seems to be something of a fallacy.

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DRS gone and ‘push to pass’ in

100% sustainable fuel will be introduced and a feature similar to Indycar ‘push to pass’ will be included. All this was designed to attract new manufacturers into the sport, following Red Bull’s spat with their then power unit partner Renault, which led to the possibility of the team having no engine with which to compete.

Designed to attract new manufacturers to the sport, the regulations have led to commitments from existing suppliers such as Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault, the return of Honda as a manufacturer and the arrival of Audi and Red Bull Ford Powertrains, who are partnering with Ford.

Liberty Media’s CEO if F1, Stefano Domenicali said today: “These regulations mark a significant moment in the future of our sport as we look forward to a new generation of car and power unit that aims to give our fans closer and exciting racing.

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Faster cornering and higher top speed

“The new sustainably fuelled hybrid power unit presents a huge opportunity for the global automotive industry, the drop in fuel has the potential to be used by cars around the world and dramatically cut emissions. Its potential is one of the key reasons why we will have a record number of engine suppliers in Formula 1 in 2026”, he concluded.

And finally to the claim the cars will be more nimble. They may corner more quickly, travel faster in a straight line and be easier to overtake, but they are not nimble. Just 30 kilograms has been shed from the current weight of 798kg just 3.8% less than the current car and driver mass and just 3.3% lighter than when the car is fully loaded with fuel.

So nimble they are not and for races like the recent Monaco Grand Prix, the smaller footprint of the car is negligible and overtaking will be as difficult as it is today.

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Marko spills the beans on Red Bull goings o

There is no shortage of drama in the world of Formula 1, and the recent challenges faced by Red Bull Racing have become a focal point of discussion. Despite their status as reigning champions, the team have encountered significant technical difficulties that have affected their performance, particularly since the Monaco Grand Prix in 2024.

Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s sporting director, has shed light on these issues, providing valuable insight into what could be going wrong with the team’s latest car. Certainly it is clear that during the Monaco Grand Prix, the Red Bull car struggled significantly to ride the kerbs and it is expected that Canada will be the same for the next race… READ MORE