Formula 1

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F1 cars in 2026 will be smaller, safer, more nimble, more sustainable

Cars, F1, Formula 1 / /
A render of a 2026 F1 car

Enlarge / For 2026, F1 cars are going on a little bit of a diet.

Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile

Earlier today, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile laid out the direction for Formula 1’s next set of technical regulations, which will go into effect in 2026. It will be the second big shakeup of F1’s technical regs since 2022 and involves sweeping changes to the hybrid powertrain and a fundamental rethink of how some of the aerodynamics work.

“With this set of regulations, the FIA has sought to develop a new generation of cars that are fully in touch with the DNA of Formula 1—cars that are light, supremely fast and agile but which also remains at the cutting edge of technology, and to achieve this we worked towards what we called a ‘nimble car’ concept. At the center of that vision is a redesigned power unit that features a more even split between the power derived from the internal combustion element and electrical power,” said Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater technical director.

Didn’t we just get new rules?

It feels like F1 only just got through its last big rule change with the (re)introduction of ground-effect cars at the start of 2022. Since the early 1980s, F1 cars have generated aerodynamic grip, or downforce, via front and rear wings. But drivers found it increasingly difficult to follow each other closely through corners as the dirty air from the car in front starved the following car’s front wing of air, robbing it of cornering grip in the process.

The 2022 rules changed this, requiring cars to use a sculpted floor that generates downforce via the venturi effect. This reduced the importance of the front wing, and indeed, the cars were able to race closely in 2022. In two years’ time, F1 cars will use less complicated floors with smaller venturis that generate a smaller ground effect, which the FIA says should mean no more having to run “ultra-stiff and low setups” to avoid the problem of porpoising.

Overall downforce is being reduced by 30 percent, but there’s an even greater reduction in drag—55 percent is the target, which is being done in part to accommodate the new hybrid powertrain.

More hybrid power

The V6 internal combustion engine is becoming less powerful, dropping to an output of 536 hp (400 kW), but the electric motor that also drives the rear wheels will now generate 470 hp (350 kW). That leaves the combined power output roughly where it is today, but only when the battery has enough charge. However, cars will be allowed to harvest twice as much energy (8.5 MJ) per lap under braking as now.

And as Ars has covered in the past, the engines will run on drop-in sustainable fuels. The new engine regulations have succeeded in tempting Honda back into the sport, as well as bringing in Ford and Audi, and possibly Cadillac in time.

Since the cars will be less powerful when they’re just running on internal combustion, more than halving the amount of drag they experience means they shouldn’t be too slow along the straights.

When F1 first introduced its original hybrid, called KERS (for kinetic energy recovery system), the electric motor boost was something the driver could use on demand. But that changed when the current powertrain rules came into effect in 2014, and it became up to the car to decide when to deploy energy from the battery to supplement the V6 motor.

In 2026, that changes again. The hybrid system is programmed to use less of the electric motor’s power as speeds pass 180 mph (270 km/h), down to zero at 220 mph (355 km/h), relying just on the V6 by then. But if a car is following within a second, the chasing driver can override that cutoff, allowing the full 470 hp from the electric motor at speeds of up to 209 mph (337 km/h), with up to half a MJ of extra energy.

F1 cars in 2026 will be smaller, safer, more nimble, more sustainable Read More »

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Sims show problems with F1’s plan for moveable wings in 2026

Cars, downforce, F1, Formula 1, racing / /

work in progress —

In low-drag configuration, the cars were “undriveable.”

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Under a cloudscape sky, and in front of trees of the Ardennes Forest, a Red Bull Racing RB10 racing car driven at speed by either German Sebastian Vettel or Australian driver Mark Webber through the Eau Rouge corner and towards the Raidillon corner following other cars while being watched by a crowd of people sitting in the grandstand during the race at the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, on the 24th August 2014. (Photo by Darren Heath/Getty Images)

Enlarge / F1 has a few more months before it has to finalize the technical regulations for 2026.

Darren Heath/Getty Images

F1 is set to undergo another of its periodic technical rule changes in 2026, undertaken every few years in an effort to keep the racing safe and at least somewhat relevant. The sport is adopting carbon-neutral synthetic fuels and switching to a simplified, if far more powerful, hybrid system, powering cars with much less drag. But early simulation tests have been alarming, with cars that were at times “undriveable,” according to a report in Motorsport.

The FIA, which is in charge of F1’s rules and regulations, wants cars that can race each other closely and entertain an audience, so expect the 2026 cars to generate less aerodynamic downforce, since that is often conducive to processional racing.

Reducing drag is a bigger priority for the FIA, especially since the new hybrid system, which still regenerates energy under braking but no longer also from the engine’s turbocharger, won’t have the energy sufficient to aid the car’s combustion engine throughout the entire lap.

The solution is to evolve the feature currently known as the Drag Reduction System, which has been required on cars since 2011. DRS lowers an element of the rear wing on command, cutting drag to the car. But instead of using it to make overtaking a bit easier, as is the case now, the idea is for the cars to have a low-drag configuration along the straights, then switch into a high downforce configuration for cornering.

But according to Motorsport, when the cars are in their lowest-drag configuration, they become “almost undriveable—with multiple examples of drivers spinning on straights under acceleration or being unable to take the smallest of curves without the rear stepping out.”

The culprit is a huge shift in the car’s center of pressure, which the FIA says is as much as three times greater than the current change in balance when a driver deploys their DRS. There is a solution, though—active front wings to go with the active rear wings, which move in concert to maintain the same balance on the car even as it switches from high downforce to low drag.

Some of you may be asking why, if F1 is supposedly the pinnacle of motorsport, it hasn’t had active front wings all along. But the sport has had a long-held prohibition on active aerodynamic devices—which it even extended to mass dampers—since 1969 (other than when specified by the rules, like DRS, obviously), following a series of crashes shortly after F1 discovered downforce.

Sims show problems with F1’s plan for moveable wings in 2026 Read More »

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Red Bull suspends alleged harassment victim in snowballing F1 scandal

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on international women’s day, no less —

After accusing team boss of “inappropriate behavior,” female F1 employee suspended.

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Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner talks in the Team Principals Press Conference during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on March 07, 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Enlarge / Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner faced the media at an F1 press conference earlier today in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Formula 1 has been embroiled in a scandal as its 2024 season gets underway. As Ars detailed on Monday, the team principal for Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner, was investigated by his organization for what was described as “controlling and inappropriate behavior” toward a female member of his staff. Now, we’ve learned that the staff member has been suspended with pay by the F1 team.

A spokesperson for the team told The Guardian that Red Bull was unable to comment on an internal matter.

Last week, Red Bull issued a statement about the dismissal of the grievance, stating that the complainant has a right of appeal but that it “is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous, and impartial.”

“The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned,” the statement said. “Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”

Today, Horner faced the F1 media in a press conference for F1 team bosses at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which takes place this Saturday. “It has been of great interest in different elements of the media for different reasons,” Horner said, adding, “I think it’s time to draw a line under it. And to focus on what is going on on track.”

Regarding the investigation, Horner said, “We are all bound by the same restrictions. Even if I’d like to talk about it, I can’t. This has been trying in many respects.”

Although Horner was cleared by Red Bull’s internal investigation, an anonymous source leaked WhatsApp screenshots, allegedly between Horner and the now-suspended employee—to hundreds of people in the F1 paddock. That was followed by Jos Verstappen, father of F1 world champion Max Verstappen, telling the media that Horner’s position was untenable.

Verstappen Sr. has denied being behind the leak, which is largely believed to be part of an internal Red Bull power struggle following the death of co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz. Horner has the backing of the Thai family that owns 51 percent of the company, but not the Austrian management of Red Bull GmbH, which has the backing of Mateschitz’s son, who owns the remaining 49 percent.

Others in the paddock have been pressed on their views of the situation. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton told journalists that “it’s a really, really important time for the sport to show and stick to its values, hold ourselves accountable for our actions, and it’s a really, really pivotal moment for the sport in terms of what we project to the world and how it’s handled.”

“And it’s not been handled very well to this point, and I think transparency is really key,” Hamilton continued.

“It highlights some of the issues that we also have within the sport, when we’re talking about diversity and inclusion, that inclusion, making people feel comfortable in this environment, it’s clearly not the case.”

Speaking to Bloomberg, James Vowles, team principal for Williams Racing, said, “I can only control what happens within Williams, and what I can do within that environment is open everyone’s eyes to ‘this is how we have to be,’ because the best ideas don’t come from being a closed group of individuals. It comes from diversity.

“These allegations are allegations,” Vowles said. “I’m afraid I don’t have any understanding of what is behind them and the significance of what has happened. All I can say is that should this ever happen in our regard, we’ll be entirely supportive in terms of fixing it and making sure we have a culture that is accepting of everyone.”

But not every voice from the paddock has been as supportive. RB driver Daniel Ricciardo, who has become a fan favorite as a result of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, told the media he hoped the situation would just go away. “You want things to be smoother than they are, of course,” Ricciardo said. “Right now, there is a lot of noise and distraction, no doubt. Look, the way they performed last week… for them to be able to still focus on business on track, that is also a big strength of theirs. Hopefully, these things start to slowly go away, and they could just focus on being a racing team.”

As optics go, these are bad, particularly as the news of the employee’s suspension emerged on International Women’s Day and on the first day of the season for F1 Academy, a series for young women drivers to get their foot on the single-seater racing ladder. French phenom Doriane Pin was fastest in F1 Academy testing, followed by Britain’s Abby Pulling and the American Lia Block, daughter of Ken Block, the late star of the Gymkhana drifting videos.

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Here’s what we know after three days of Formula 1 preseason testing

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Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 on track during day one of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on February 21, 2024 in Bahrain, Bahrain.

Enlarge / While it’s hard to read too much into preseason testing times, it’s also hard to see anyone really challenging Red Bull or Max Verstappen for outright speed.

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

The sixth season of Drive to Survive, Netflix’s blockbuster behind-the-scenes sportumentary, went live today. This isn’t a review of that. Instead, for the past few days my attention has been turned to Formula 1’s preseason testing, which got underway on Wednesday morning at the Bahrain International Circuit in Bahrain.

In the olden days, preseason testing was a thing you’d read about in the specialty press—a reason to buy a copy of Autosport in February, if you will. There was a lot more of it back then, too; up to five official preseason tests, although it was unusual for a team to attend all of them.

In F1’s current era, there isn’t really time for so much testing, even if it weren’t strictly limited by the rules. The first race of what should be a 24-race calendar takes place next Saturday (March 2), with the final round, also in the Middle East, not scheduled until December 8. Contrast that with the early 2000s, when a season might run for 16 or 17 races between early March and mid-October.

This year the teams get three test days ahead of 24 race weekends.

Enlarge / This year the teams get three test days ahead of 24 race weekends.

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Back then, none of the preseason testing would be broadcast to fans, either. Now, thanks to F1’s streaming platform, there are 24 hours of coverage to keep you occupied, with each eight-hour day covered by an English-language commentary team that combines some of F1’s own (yay, Sam Collins!) with some voices more familiar to Sky’s (and therefore ESPN’s) coverage, like the always-excellent Anthony Davidson.

While I imagine the committed F1 fan will also add in all 10 hours of DtS season six, you’re unlikely to get nearly as good of a technical insight into the new cars or come away with a better understanding of what the drivers are doing in the cars to extract such speed so consistently.

Don’t read much into the times

An important thing to know about preseason testing is that it’s very difficult to read much into any of the lap times. The cars aren’t subject to scrutineering checks the way they are during a race weekend, and some teams aren’t above putting together a so-called glory lap to top the timesheets and maybe attract a sponsor or two.

These days, that’s far less likely than sandbagging—intentionally driving a car slowly at certain points during a lap, perhaps—to hide one’s true pace. Instead, each team has its own run plan designed to satisfy the needs of the engineers.

Rarer still is the team that shows up with something revolutionary that blows everyone else into the weeds. But it does happen—check out Keanu Reeves’ Brawn: The Impossible F1 Story for a 21st-century example of such a sporting fairytale.

What’s changed in the offseason?

There have been no real changes to the technical regulations for this year, but every team has a new car that reflects their better understanding of how the current ruleset needs to be best exploited.

The key to generating useful aerodynamic downforce from a current F1 car’s ground effect is to keep the car as stable as possible under both braking and accelerating, which means controlling dive at the front axle and countering lift at the rear axle. For 2024, some teams have had a fundamental rethink of how they do that.

  • George and Lewis will push the WhatsApp button to talk to their race engineers.

    Kym Illman/Getty Images

  • Ferrari topped the time sheets on days two and three, and the car looks fast in long runs as well as qualifying simulations.

    Mario Renzi – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

  • Mercedes (and the teams it supplies engines to) have moved to rear pushrod suspension.

    Peter Fox – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

  • Sauber is a good example of a team that’s kept as much of the car bare carbon as possible.

    Mark Thompson/Getty Images

  • Visa Cash App RB is a daft name for a team. And while I’m complaining, should Red Bull really be allowed to own two teams? I can’t think of another sport where someone can own more than one franchise.

    Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

  • Long-serving Red Bull team boss Christian Horner is looking less secure in his position thanks to an ongoing internal investigation regarding inappropriate behavior towards a subordinate.

    Mark Thompson/Getty Images

  • There’s a new boss at Haas, Ayao Komatsu.

    NDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images

  • Aston Martin’s car looks like it handles well, but might not have the pace of either Ferrari or Mercedes.

    Mark Thompson/Getty Images

  • You’d think two French teammates in a French team might be a recipe for harmony, but Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly don’t really have the best relationship.

    Clive Mason/Getty Images

  • Alex Albon drove last year’s Williams into some points-paying positions when the track suited the car. This year Williams says it has a car with a much wider operating window.

    Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

Kick Sauber and RB (yes, those are real names) are joining Red Bull and McLaren in using pullrods (instead of pushrods) for their front suspension. Meanwhile, Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Williams have switched to rear pushrods, which interfere less with the underbody aerodynamics, leaving just Ferrari and their client Haas sticking with rear pullrods.

The floor might generate more of the downforce now, but that doesn’t mean bodywork isn’t important. Red Bull’s looks significantly different, incorporating ideas tried with varying success at other teams like Ferrari’s “bathtub sidepod” or Mercedes’ “zero sidepod.”

Truthfully, the most immediately noticeable difference from last year has been more teams opting to forgo a full-body paint job, preferring large expanses of bare carbon fiber in the name of saving another kilo or two. And if you’re looking for nerd trivia to bore impress someone with, the Mercedes drivers now have a WhatsApp button on their steering wheel to use to radio back to the pits.

Here’s what we know after three days of Formula 1 preseason testing Read More »

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Andretti Cadillac didn’t snub Formula 1—F1’s email went to spam folder

Andretti Cadillac, Cars, F1, Formula 1, racing / /

go on, let them in —

Formula 1 emailed the prospective team but never followed up when it got no reply.

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Close up of spam email folder on screen

Enlarge / Don’t you hate it when an important email ends up here?

Getty Images

Last week, Formula 1 formally rejected a bid by Andretti Cadillac to join the sport as an 11th team and constructor. Among the details in a lengthy justification of its decision, Formula 1 wrote that on December 12, it invited the Andretti team to an in-person meeting, “but the Applicant did not take us up on this offer.” Now, it turns out that the Andretti team never saw the email, which instead got caught by a spam filter.

Not even a follow-up?

“We were not aware that the offer of a meeting had been extended and would not decline a meeting with Formula One Management,” the team said in a statement. “An in-person meeting to discuss commercial matters would be and remains of paramount importance to Andretti Cadillac. We welcome the opportunity to meet with Formula One Management and have written to them confirming our interest.”

F1 apparently never followed up with a phone call or even subsequent email during the six weeks between that initial invitation and its announcement at the end of January. Had the two parties gotten together, it’s likely that Andretti could have cleared up some other things for F1 as well.

You just assumed 2025

As F1 noted in its justification, Formula 1 is about to go through a significant rule change in 2026. The cars will be a little narrower and lighter, and the expensive, complicated hybrid system that recovers waste heat energy (known as the MGU-H) is going away—to compensate, the hybrid system that recovers energy under braking (the MGU-K) will get far more powerful.

Designing a car to enter the 2025 season and then a completely different car to a new set of rules in 2026 would be quite the challenge. No one appears to have understood this more than Andretti, which has instead been concentrating on designing a car to those 2026 rules.

Having realized some time ago that the entire process—which began in February 2023—had dragged on so long that it would be virtually impossible to field an entry for next year, the team said it had “been operating with 2026 as the year of entry for many months now. The technicality of 2025 still being part of the application is a result of the length of this process.”

Hey, I know you!

That in-person meeting would also have allowed F1’s management to say hello to some old faces it knows well; Andretti’s chief designer John McQuilliam, head of aerodynamics Jon Tomlinson, and technical director Nick Chester have all worked under F1 technical director Pat Symonds in the past.

As many have pointed out, F1’s claim that any new team has to be competitive and able to challenge for wins doesn’t hold much water, particularly since a single team took home all but one winner’s trophy last season. But it also remains clear that F1 really doesn’t want to add an 11th team to its roster, despite how advantageous a new American team could be as the sport attempts to grow its presence here in the US.

The entry process was not opened by F1 but by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile), which writes the rulebook and used to have sole jurisdiction over this kind of thing until the European Union’s antitrust action forced the FIA to give up its commercial interest in the sport in 1999. At first, the commercial rights were owned by Bernie Ecclestone, then the private equity group CVC Capital Partners, and since 2018, Liberty Media. Under the current agreement between the FIA, F1, and the teams, F1 has a veto on any new addition to the sport, even if—as is the case with Andretti Cadillac—an entrant passes the FIA’s due diligence.

Now that the communications breakdown has been revealed, perhaps Andretti and F1 can get back together and have a more civilized discussion about an entry in 2026.

Andretti Cadillac didn’t snub Formula 1—F1’s email went to spam folder Read More »