Active aero, override button, end of DRS… The FIA ​​reveals the contours of F1 in 2026

2022 was yesterday... but 2026 is already tomorrow! Two years after having made its revolution by launching the era of ground-effect single-seaters, the FIA ​​revealed this Thursday the precise contours of the next era of Formula 1, starting in a year and a half, during the 2026 season. If the engine regulations had already been published, it is now the chassis regulations which are revealed, even if their ratification is only scheduled for June 28 in Council global.

Among the new developments to note, the legislator has endeavored to draft texts allowing the return of “agile single-seaters”, in opposition to the current rigid and imposing cars, in order to improve the handling of these cars and the spectacle on the track. In other words, single-seaters will melt. The wheelbase increases from a maximum of 3600 mm to 3400 mm, while the width is reduced from 2000 mm to 1900 mm. The maximum width of the floor will decrease by 150 mm. And all this will materialize above all by a minimum total weight reduced by 30 kg (768 kg). That is a total mass of 722 kg including the car and the driver, plus approximately 46 kg of tires. If the 18-inch tires introduced in 2022 are retained, they will still be less imposing, with a reduction in the width of the front tires by 25 mm and the rear tires by 30 mm.

More “agile” single-seaters

Aerodynamically there will also be many changes. These 2026 single-seaters will indeed benefit from brand new active aerodynamic systems. The novelty, which includes movable front and rear wings, will allow drivers to adapt their level of downforce depending on the circumstances, via two distinct modes between which they can juggle from one part of the circuit to another. Standard Z mode, allowing more downforce, especially in turns. And an X mode, which will be a low-drag setup to maximize straight-line speed. This small revolution was necessary, in order to compensate for the profound modifications of the 2026 engines, which will give pride of place to electric power.

The future of F1 is coming soon 👀

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- FIA (@fia) June 6, 2024

“One of the central aspects of the 2026 power unit is its greater dependence on electric power, confirms Jason Somerville, the FIA’s head of aerodynamics. If one were to place the 2026 powertrain in a current car, given the underlying level of drag, the energy required to push the car through the air would be rather high, and this would not match very well with the characteristics of the powertrain. This would result in a sharp drop in speed on long straight lines. For 2026, the aerodynamic objective has therefore been to reduce the base drag of the car, while trying to maintain a good level of downforce in the corners, which has led us towards the solution of active aerodynamics. »

More electric motors

A three-element active rear wing will therefore be adopted, while the lower beam wing has been removed and the end plates have been simplified. Note that the front wing will be 100 mm narrower than currently and will feature a two-element active flap. Unlike current cars, the front wheel arches will be removed and part of the wheel bodywork will be imposed, in order to achieve optimal slipstream performance. The cars will feature a partially flat floor and a less powerful diffuser, reducing ground effect and the cars' reliance on ultra-stiff and low settings.

Regarding the power unit, the regulations were first published in August 2022. In particular, it was discovered that the 2026 engines would provide even more power than the units currently used. Because if the power derived from the ICE will increase from 550 kW today to only 400 kW in 2026, the battery element will increase massively, going from 120 kW to 350 kW – an increase of almost 300% in electrical power. All this in order to maintain performance while focusing on durability. The removal of the MGU-H, the most expensive and technologically complicated element of current units, will also allow engine manufacturers to have units more suited to the road and to rely on possible transfers of innovations. The fuel used will obviously be 100% sustainable.

More active aero

In the detail of a greater part of electrification of the units, the quantity of energy recoverable during braking will be doubled, which will give a total recoverable energy of 8,5 MJ per revolution. The other small revolution concerns the end of the DRS! Or at least the drag reduction system as we know it today. “DRS on the rear wing will no longer be used to facilitate overtaking, confirms Jan Monchaux, the new technical director of the FIA. It will be used by default on all straights by all cars to reduce straight line drag, because this has big benefits in terms of energy consumption, but also because a higher top speed allows you to recover more when you brake at the end of the straight. As the effect of opening the rear wing on the straight is very significant, the front wing flap will also be activated simultaneously to rebalance the car on the straight. »

Without DRS strictly speaking, this still raises the question of facilitating overtaking. To respond to this constraint, the FIA ​​relied on two elements: first the return to more agile single-seaters producing less dirty air in the wake, then above all the introduction of an “override button”, which will give the possibility of using the electric motor for longer on the straight compared to a competitor, and which will work more or less like today's DRS. “We are introducing an overtaking function, which will have effects comparable to those of DRS, confirms Monchaux. If, before the end of a lap, you find yourself at a given distance from the car in front of you, you will have the opportunity, for the next lap, to use more electrical energy than your opponent. This supply of electrical energy replaces the opening of the rear wing and gives the car additional thrust which allows it to attempt an overtake. »

Even more optimized security

Finally, in terms of safety, several aspects have been reviewed again by the FIA, in its constant quest for safety. The revision of the regulations on front impact structures introduces a two-stage structure to avoid incidents in recent years where the front impact structure (FIS) has failed in the vicinity of the survival cell continued to a first impact, leaving the car unprotected in the event of a subsequent impact. The side protection against intrusions has also been reinforced.

The roll bar loads were increased from 16 to 20 G, in line with other formulas for single-seaters, and the test loads were increased from 141 to 167 kN. The rear wing end lights will be homologated and significantly more visible and brighter than the current lights. Side safety lights will be introduced to identify the ERS status of a car stopped across the track. Finally, the GPS antenna is repositioned to improve sensitivity and enable future developments in active safety. As a reminder, the teams will only be able to start their work in the CDF and in the wind tunnel from January 2025. Not before.

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