The 2026 Formula One season will see the biggest ever car design regulations in the 75 years of history of the sport. It has been driven mostly by the new V6 turbo hybrid engines which are scheduled to debut that year which in turn had implication for how the cars handle the new power.

The power unit will now deliver 50% of its output from the electrical components whilst the internal combustion engine (ICE) will run on fully sustainable fuels. There has been a lot of debate over the functionality of the new power trains with Christian Horner claiming they could turn out to be “Frankenstein monsters” following Red Bull projections.

Red Bull believe on the fast circuits with long straights, the ICE will be effectively acting as a generator to produce electrical power which is hardly an earth shattering way of doing things and neither is it the most efficient way of generating forward momentum.

 

 

 

FIA 2026 regulations were incomplete

The FIA delivered on its June 2024 deadline a set of chassis design regulations for 2026, yet they admitted they would require further work before going for ratification to the World Motorsports Council. Unhappy the teams demanded a meeting in Montreal with the FIA’s technical advisory committee raising concerns the rules would not work as intended.

It was suggested as currently framed there were problems with the aerodynamic concept and that in their current state the new cars would lack performance due to a downforce deficit and potential battery failures.

Further since the introduction of the monster V6 turbo hybrid power units, the cars have grown significantly in weight. It was agreed the new cars should see a weight reduction, but when finalised was a mere 30kg. Even this they argued will be difficult to deliver with eye electrical power and batteries growing by 300% from where they are now.

The cost of delivering this meagre weight reduction they argued would require disproportionate sums of money which would be better spent elsewhere. To improve the monster size F1 cars performance at low speed the current ban on moveable aero parts (with the exception of DRS) will be lifted to add downforce in the corners, but bleed drag along the straights.

Cadillac will never build an F1 hybrid engine

 

 

 

Ten year wait for ‘dirty air’ solution

Yet the FIA’s plans for this active aero were sketchy as the FIA appeared to be proposing a two setting system. Z mode wings for would be for high downforce and X mode to generate low drag on straight lines.

Following a meeting with the world motorsport council, the FIA have released tweaks to the much criticised 2026 chassis design regulations which appears to be allowing the a greater degree of aerodynamic freedom. This is a mere handful of days before the teams are allowed to begin their wind tunnel work on the cars January 1st 2025.

The consequences of these changes can be seen in the renderings released by the FIA which include significant differences from those published back in Montreal. There is more detail on the crucial front wing concept, with the distance between the endplates narrowed.

The end plate will sit in line with the inside of the tyre, not the outside as is currently the case. This suggestion was made by Gordon Murray some ten years ago in an article he wrote for Motorsport Magazine. Then the guru F1 designer claimed this would reduce the airflow around the outside of the car reducing the dirty air for the car following behind.

Whilst F1 may be the pinnacle of motorsport, at times it moves more slowly and is less nimble than an ocean going tanker.

Red Bull “afraid” to hold post test media session

 

 

 

Ground effect remains but reduced

The cars for 2026 will retain the ground effect concept which arrived back in F1 with the 2022 regulation changes. These stripped 50% of the downforce from the top of the car (2021 and earlier) and replaced it with Venturi tunnels under the floor which have the aero effect of sucking the car down onto the circuit.

Again the purpose of this was to reduce the dirty air coming from the downforce aero on top of the car. Whilst retaining ground effect principles the 2026 will have a reduced under floor effect on this kind of performance. Certain teams are still complaining about ‘porpoising’ and ‘bouncing’ three years on and this change is designed to mitigate that phenomenon.

The most significant visual change in the FIA renderings are around the rear wings. The version of the regulations in June were more angular. Now the rear wings have a similar look to the current crop which McLaren pioneered successfully. Unlike in the original 2026 design, no DRS actuator is visible, though the new regulations are intended to permit adjustable aerodynamic elements at the front and rear of the car.

DRS is currently an aid to combat the dirty air and allow the following driver to get close enough to make the overtake. The new renderings to not show a DRS actuator though the regulations are clear moveable front and rear wings will be permissible.

Sainz candid about the state of the Williams F1 car

 

 

 

Relaxing of regs approved by teams

Finally, again designed to prevent processional racing, the drivers will have a ‘manual override’ which will act in a similar fashion to the Indycar “push to pass” button. They will have a certain number of seconds a lap to use this wherever they like which will appear to the more thinking racing driver.

The initial response from the teams appears positive with the recently victorious McLaren boss Andreas Stella having this to say: “I think in terms of cornering speed, now in simulations it looks much more convincing that it may still be offering good racing, may still be offering Formula 1 as the pinnacle of motorsport,” he said.

“So from this point of view, downforce levels seem to be in a much better place. I think there’s still a few weeks of work [for us as a team to do]. And hopefully this will lead us to the target that will guarantee good racing and good overall speed like we all want to see for a Formula 1 car.”

Verstappen defends criticism of Horner

 

 

 

FIA president calls for full time F1 stewards

Whilst the 2024 Formula One season was one of the finest in history with seven drivers winning multiple races for he first time ever, the show was at times clouded by decisions made by race control and the stewards. Kevin Magnussen became the first F1 driver to be banned for a race under the totting up penalty points system where once a driver reaches twelve points on his super license he is forced to sit the next Grand Prix weekend out.

Returning to the paddock after sotting out the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Dane joked that now with a clean license he could do whatever he liked. “You get punished, and then you come back, and you’re, like, all ready to… f— s— up now!” Magnussen mocked. “It’s funny how that works.”…… READ MORE