The FIA made a splash last Thursday in announcing a draft set of the highly anticipated 2026 Formula 1 chassis and aerodynamic regulations. Sweeping changes aimed at making the cars lighter, smaller and more eco-friendly caused major disruption in the Montreal paddock as several team members cried outrage at the potential pitfalls the regulations pose. So, is it all doom and gloom for 2026?
The keyword to look upon is ‘draft.’ The regulations revealed on Thursday are by no means the finished article so there’s no need to panic just yet, but there are definitely some wrinkles that need ironing out.
So, what do the new regulations entail?
Firstly, the minimum weight limit will see a 30kg reduction down to 768kg. The cars will go from 2000mm wide to 1900mm and a 150mm reduction will be enforced on the maximum floor width. The wheelbase dimensions will also drop from a maximum of 3600mm to 3400mm. The front tyres will see a 25mm reduction and the rears 30mm, adding up in total to create a 30% overall reduction in downforce and a 55% cut in drag.
The wings have also been revised with the front wings to be 100mm narrower and feature a two-element active flap, while the rear wings will return to three elements. In addition, the lower beam wing has been scrapped and the end plates on the rear wings will be simplified compared to the versions run using the current regulations. Both the front and rear wings will feature active aero to combat the need for high downforce cornering and low drag on the straights.
That will see the end of DRS as an overtaking measure and in its place the new Manual Override Mode, which will allow a driver pursuing another car to extract the maximum 350kW power from the MGU-K up to 337kph while their rival ahead cannot.
These changes come almost two years after the 2026 engine regulations were finalised, which among the introduction of sustainable fuels will feature a 50/50 internal combustion/electric power split. Those engine regulations were designed to appease manufacturers such as Audi but have led to fears F1 could become an energy conservation series with Frankenstein-like aero regulations retrofitted to mitigate those concerns.
Unsurprisingly, the new regulations have come in for criticism.
The FIA has said the regulations will produce cars that are “lighter, more powerful and more focused on driver skill.” Still, Lewis Hamilton said “It’s only 30 kilos so it’s going in the right direction but it’s still heavy. I don’t really have huge thoughts on it just yet, spoke to some drivers who have driven it on sim as I haven’t driven it on the sim, they said it’s pretty slow. So we will see whether it’s actually the right direction or not.”
“I think it is impossible probably to achieve 30 kilos already,” Alonso told Autosport. “They have two years to achieve that target and as always in F1, what is impossible in 2024 will become reality in 2026 because there are very clever people in the teams. But I think all is a consequence of something else that is in the cars.”
It’s not just the drivers who have voiced concerns, but team bosses as well. Both McLaren and Aston Martin’s Team Principals Andrea Stella and Mike Krack have urged for more collaboration between the teams and the FIA to achieve the targets set out for 2026.
“I think we are quite far away still from the final one, and I think it’s now up to all stakeholders to discuss, to work on possible issues constructively rather than using the media to try and put something forward,” said Krack.
“The cars are not fast enough in the corners and too fast in the straights,” argued Stella. “So these two aspects need to be rebalanced. I think from a power unit point of view, likewise from a chassis point of view, it’s time that all parties understand that they need to contribute to the success of the sport.”
Williams Team Principal James Vowles even went as far as saying lap times could be perilously close to Formula 2 levels. However, he stressed that “these are draft regulations. And just this week, in fact, there were two changes which took quite a bit of downforce away. I’m confident we’ll get to a better solution in that regard. It’s not that we’re so far away. Just a little bit more work required, though.”
It’s particularly poignant that the weekend the FIA introduced a divisive set of draft regulations we saw the field converge in qualifying to such an extent two drivers set an identical lap time while fighting for pole position. Just as F1 has reached a stage where the current rule cycle is providing close racing at the sharp end of the field, the FIA is stirring talk of an impending rule cycle that very few people like the sound of.
Again, it’s worth asking whether it is time to panic.
The answer for the time being is no. It’s far too early to tell what the 2026 cars will end up looking like. Thankfully, the FIA has also listened to the outcry and will look to relax certain elements of the regulations to appease the teams. What a relief…
