There is great uncertainty: on Thursday, April 11th, the FIA will deliver to those present at the Technical Advisory Committee, also known as the TAC, its draft of the 2026 Formula 1 regulations concerning the chassis and aerodynamics. This marks a crucial step in defining the new rules, as the International Automobile Federation itself is obligated to finalize the dossier by June before the approval of the World Council.
It is a voluminous document, at least twenty pages dense, in which the directions that Nikolas Tombazis, the technical director of the FIA’s single-seater area, and his staff want to give to the next generation of Formula 1 are detailed.
It should be remembered that, with the Concorde Agreement expiring at the end of 2025, this regulatory package is not being discussed in the F1 Commission, but is the sole responsibility of the FIA, which has a great opportunity to reclaim power that in the last Governance was shared with the promoter and the 10 teams.
The responsibility is significant, because the 2026 single-seater is being developed in two phases: first, the power unit was deliberated, and now it is time to tighten up on chassis and aerodynamics since from January 1st, teams will start working full-time in the wind tunnel.
In reality, the FIA has not worked just by itself, but has sought the collaboration of the teams by setting up working groups to analyze various proposals and identify critical issues. With the idea of introducing a power unit with a 50 percent power distribution between the combustion engine and the hybrid, it was discovered that in certain race phases, there could be significant energy losses, hence the need to introduce movable aerodynamics that allow maintaining good performance with a drastic reduction in drag resistance.
In simulations, a rear movable wing was studied that was supposed to act together with the drag reduction system, favoring a drastic loss of drag, with an intervention that seemed the least complicated. However, the Formula 1 model named “Fangio” showed great limits. It’s true that a good maximum speed was found, but it’s equally true that much grip was lost in fast corners, the riskier ones.
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According to rumors, in fact, with the wing unloaded and the engine at full power, the single-seater would have been unmanageable with sudden spins and an unstable rear end. Simulation data indicate that the aerodynamic balance would have changed threefold compared to today’s values with the drag reduction system open. This was triggered by a shift in aero balance that was estimated to be three times as much as is currently experienced when DRS is open. One insider even suggested that the only way to prevent the cars spinning was to drive so conservatively that the lap times ended up being slower than current Formula 2 machinery.
It is understood that FIA representatives recently visited the facilities of various teams, including Ferrari, in order to get a better understanding of what is going on and what could be improved based on the information from the recent simulator findings.
After the experiment failed, the FIA sought another solution that would provide the sought-after advantages without compromising the vehicle’s balance: as we had already anticipated a few weeks ago, both wings, the front as well as the rear, will become movable. By ensuring that the two wings work together, it should help reduce the aero balance offset that has been causing trouble in the simulator.
This novelty will make the new F1 cars even more complex, making it harder to achieve the weight reduction that is being pursued with cars that are decidedly more compact with narrower (1,800 millimeters) and shorter wheelbases. 16-inch tires had also been proposed, but Pirelli, at the last Technical Advisory Committee, opposed this to maintain the 18-inch standard that was introduced in the 2022 Formula 1 championship.
Some fear the creation of “Frankenstein cars,” because of the way that the chassis rules had to be adapted around the decision made in terms of power unit, but Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull, who was the main opponent of the proposals under discussion, is adjusting his stance. The British motorsport executive pointed out the FIA has listened to the suggestions of the teams and they are moving in the right direction. He added that there is still a lot of work to do, but in the end, all teams will start from the same point, so it’s how teams apply them and translate them. When they’re finalized, that’s when teams will no doubt discover whatever issues there are with the rules, but that’s no different to any other regulation change.
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