Nikolas Tombazis on 2026 F1 rules: “The engine will decide early on, then performance will converge”. FIA technical director Nikolas Tombazis explains why engines will initially define performance in the 2026 F1 season.

The FIA’s technical director for single-seaters believes that at the start of 2026 we will not see the huge performance gaps that emerged in 2022. The Greek engineer is confident that rules such as the ADUO will help performance convergence and expects limited differences from the midfield upwards.

Formula 1 is currently quiet as everyone waits for the first tests with the 2026 cars, which will make their debut at the Barcelona tests from January 26 to 30, held behind closed doors. Expectations are extremely high because the new regulations radically change the cars and could also lead to a reshuffling of the competitive order we became used to during the ground-effect era.

It is no coincidence that television crews and media will not be allowed to attend the first collective running sessions, where the cars will be required to run in camouflage liveries. With the introduction of the new power units, featuring an almost equal split of power between the internal combustion engine and the electric component, manufacturers fear a repeat of the problems that affected some teams in 2014 at the start of the hybrid era.

As many will remember, Mercedes arrived back then with a clearly superior power unit, opening a cycle of dominance that became firmly established over the following years. With the 2026 reset, such a scenario is theoretically possible again, even if the FIA should have learned from the past and has therefore introduced specific safeguard measures.

First and foremost among these is the ADUO, the system that will allow further development of the turbocharged six-cylinder engines if engine manufacturers show a performance deficit. Every six Grands Prix (rounds 1–6, 7–12 and 13–18), the FIA will measure the power output of the internal combustion engines. Manufacturers that are found to be between 2% and 4% down on the most powerful engine will be entitled to one development package, while those with a deficit greater than 4% will be allowed to introduce two.

In reality, Formula 1 is not only changing the power units, but has also revolutionised the cars’ dimensions, opting for shorter, narrower and lighter single-seaters, with active aerodynamics and the introduction of e-fuels, meaning fully sustainable fuels.

In such a climate of uncertainty, it is therefore natural to wonder what factor will be decisive in defining performance. We put this question to Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s technical director for single-seaters, who spoke to a small group of selected media outlets.

“I expect that initially it will be the internal combustion engine,” he said. “We are seeing the debut of new manufacturers under the new rules, so it is reasonable to expect, at least at the beginning, some differences in performance, but we believe we have put procedures in place to allow teams to recover the gap. I think it could be a temporary situation.”

The changes also affect aerodynamics.

“Naturally, there will be some solutions that are better and others that are worse. After an initial phase there will be a certain level of convergence: I already imagine that happening after the first six months or a year.”

In 2022, with the introduction of ground-effect cars, we saw three different aerodynamic concepts in sidepod design: downwash (Red Bull), in-wash (Ferrari) and zeropod (Mercedes). Over time, the idea developed by the Milton Keynes-based team prevailed and was eventually adopted by almost everyone.

Nikolas Tombazis does not look back to the very start of the ground-effect era, but instead limits his comparison to 2025.

“For 2026, I do not expect a starting grid as close as last year’s, but it will be a field that will later converge, even with smaller differences compared to 2025.”

Pirelli had complained back in June about the large discrepancies that emerged from the data teams had provided regarding the expected aerodynamic load at the end of the year. However, after working in the wind tunnel, the very different figures seen earlier in the season began to converge towards the end of the year.

So, can we be confident?

“Reasonably, yes, but we cannot be certain because we do not have access to the detailed data from the teams, so we do not know how much downforce they have now or how many horsepower they are running,” the Greek engineer underlined. “Initially, I think there could be some variation, but we are fairly confident that performance convergence should lead to a more compact grid.”

Before concluding, Nikolas Tombazis wanted to add an important consideration.

“I think what determines how close the grid is is not necessarily the gap between the first and last car. If one or two teams struggle initially, I do not think those teams will determine how exciting a championship is.”

“Usually, it is more decisive to see how close the cars are in the upper half of the grid, and I am referring to the teams fighting for points and victories. I think that is where we will have a fairly competitive field.”

The upcoming 2026 regulations represent a major shift in Formula 1’s technical landscape, balancing initial performance variance with long-term convergence to ensure a competitive spectacle.