With the regulatory changes fast approaching, teams do not want to be caught unprepared. For this reason, some may even decide to overlook 2025 to focus all efforts on the new cars. Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari’s team principal, spoke about what could be the main ‘game changer’ ahead of the 2026 regulations.
The current regulations allow wind tunnel usage for a set number of hours based on ranking position; the higher a team is in the Constructors’ standings, the fewer hours it is allowed. This is a factor that should not be underestimated with the new technical cycle, as Frederic Vasseur emphasized.
Frederic Vasseur’s Concerns for 2026
“This isn’t an issue for 2025,” said the Ferrari Team Principal. “We’ve reached a point where each development brings only very small gains. However, the wind tunnel hours could truly become a game changer in 2026,” the French added. “Some teams might decide to deprioritize next year to focus entirely on 2026. Of course, if you have the chance to compete for something important, you would never overlook 2025 and would instead split resources between the two seasons,” concluded the former Alfa Romeo head.
This could certainly make the new regulatory cycle more balanced than expected, but we’ll have to wait until the 2026 Formula 1 campaign to see which strategy proves to be the most effective.
This system operates on a sliding scale: the team finishing first in the championship begins a new phase with 70% of the baseline allocation, increasing by 5% increments up to a maximum of 115% for the team in 10th place. The goal is to bring the field closer together.
Allocations reset twice each year, based on standings in the Constructors’ Championship. One cycle covers January 1 through June 30, while the second spans July 1 to December 31.
The current distribution levels, which were set following this year’s Austrian Grand Prix, are outlined below.
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