F1 aerodynamic testing rules change from July 1: what it means for Ferrari and rivals. FIA aerodynamic testing update: how the new ATR allocations will impact the 2026 F1 season.

In the spring of 2020, the FIA World Motor Sport Council introduced regulations governing the use of wind tunnels and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software by implementing a form of performance balancing. The Aerodynamic Testing Restrictions (ATR) system acts as a handicap mechanism, regulating access to physical testing facilities and simulation software according to a scale that is inversely proportional to the Constructors’ Championship standings.

The concept is similar to a sliding scale: the percentage of aerodynamic testing time allocated to each team changes dynamically throughout the calendar year. From an aerodynamic development perspective, each season is divided into six Aerodynamic Testing Periods (ATPs), with three periods in each half of the year. During every ATP, the team ranked seventh in the Constructors’ Championship is permitted to complete up to 320 wind tunnel runs and use 2,000 CFD items. The allocation for every other team is then increased or reduced by 5% depending on its position in the reference Constructors’ standings.

It is worth remembering that, between one wind tunnel test and the next, engineers must physically modify the 60%-scale model before continuing. As a result, preparing a new test configuration generally takes considerably longer than the actual validation run itself.

The FIA Operational Regulations, specifically Section F, define three key parameters that govern how Formula 1 teams may use the wind tunnel:

• A “run” is defined as any period during which the wind tunnel speed exceeds 5 m/s.
• “Wind-on time” refers to the period during which the wind tunnel operates at speeds above 15 m/s.
• “Occupancy” is the period during which the wind tunnel speed remains above 5 m/s and can include a maximum of two runs on the same day.

When the wind speed is below 5 m/s, technicians can safely enter the wind tunnel to make changes to the model without shutting down the fan, helping to save both time and energy. Once the speed exceeds 15 m/s—which corresponds to approximately 90 km/h for a 60%-scale model—the aerodynamic data gathered during the test becomes genuinely meaningful for development purposes.

During the first half of the 2026 Formula 1 season, the allocation of wind tunnel runs and CFD items was based on the final Constructors’ Championship standings from 2025. Thanks to its fourth-place finish last season, Scuderia Ferrari benefited from a more generous ATR allocation than McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull.

However, Ferrari’s strong start to the current campaign allowed the Maranello-based team to climb to second place in the Constructors’ Championship by June 30. As a consequence, beginning tomorrow, Ferrari’s engineers will receive 10% fewer aerodynamic testing resources. In practical terms, that means 32 fewer wind tunnel runs during each testing period and a reduction of 200 CFD items.

Among the leading teams, Red Bull stands to gain the most from the revised allocations. The Milton Keynes outfit currently sits fourth in the championship after a difficult opening phase of the season, giving it access to a larger share of aerodynamic testing under the ATR formula. However, following the Red Bull Ring weekend, where the team introduced what was effectively a B-spec version of the RB22, Laurent Mekies admitted that the latest upgrades had already consumed a significant portion of the available development budget.

This highlights an important aspect of the ATR system: aerodynamic testing restrictions cannot be viewed independently of Formula 1’s budget cap. Although a team may receive a larger allocation of wind tunnel and CFD testing, those additional resources only become truly valuable if there is sufficient budget remaining to manufacture and introduce the components validated through simulation and testing.

One team that could potentially make the biggest leap is Aston Martin. Adrian Newey’s first car for the Silverstone-based outfit, despite being hindered by Honda’s well-documented difficulties, got off to an extremely poor start. On paper, however, Aston Martin now combines one of the highest aerodynamic testing allocations on the grid with the financial resources needed to exploit it, having deliberately chosen not to continue developing the AMR26 during the season in order to rethink the project from the ground up.