The FIA had proposed several solutions aimed at reducing the impact of dirty air in Formula 1, but the teams ultimately refused to support the changes.
With the conclusion of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship in Abu Dhabi, the regulatory cycle of the ground-effect cars also came to an end. However, the FIA’s overall assessment leaves room for more than one reflection. At the centre of the discussion is an important behind-the-scenes revelation shared by Nikolas Tombazis, FIA director of single-seaters: the governing body attempted to intervene midway through the regulatory cycle to reduce dirty air, but the teams opposed the idea, effectively blocking any modification.
The problem had existed for several years
According to Tombazis, the issue did not emerge suddenly. As early as two years ago, it was already clear that certain areas of the regulations were being exploited beyond their original intent, worsening the ability of cars to follow each other closely on track. The FIA had identified specific zones where intervention would have been possible, but the Formula 1 governance system made it impossible to act without broad political consensus.
The first critical area concerned the front wing endplate. “It was originally designed to create a strong inwash effect,” Nikolas Tombazis explained. Over time, however, the rules governing how the aerodynamic profiles connect to the endplate were not restrictive enough. The result was a significant return of outwash, meaning air being pushed outward, which is precisely what the 2022 regulations were designed to prevent.
A second key element was the internal design of the front wheels, known as the drum. Here too, teams found highly effective solutions from a performance standpoint, but ones that were detrimental to the quality of racing. Added to this were the edges of the floor, another area that teams exploited to generate downforce and disturb the airflow behind the car. Despite recognising these issues, the FIA did not have full freedom to act.
To change the regulations during an active cycle, a large majority of teams is required, and that majority was never reached.
“These areas are not a recent discovery. They were already evident two years ago. We tried to change the rules, but we did not have enough support among the teams.”
The FIA now hopes the problem will not return in 2026
The end result was a gradual increase in dirty air, especially when compared to the early stages of the 2022 season, when races were widely considered more competitive. The FIA was forced to acknowledge the teams’ refusal and postpone any intervention until the start of the new regulatory cycle.
Looking ahead, the hope is that the 2026 regulations will definitively correct these unwanted effects. The FIA had identified the problem and proposed solutions, but internal Formula 1 politics ultimately prevailed over the need to improve the on-track spectacle.
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