Formula 1 is now 10 races into its 24-race calendar, and for all 10 teams, there is now a “significant challenge” of balancing their current cars, and developing the ones to compete in 2026.
Across the grid, there are battles, whether it be at the front, middle or back of the grid, and with that comes a unique challenge on its own, as there is a constant shift between updating and maintaining competitiveness and looking ahead to a step into the unknown.
There is always going to be a disconnect between some of the bigger teams to the smaller ones, but the fundamental struggle remains, more so with the forthcoming introduction of the new set of regulations.
These new rules will provide a fresh difficulty as there will be various interpretations of them, with Aston Martin’s Adrian Newey even describing them as “scary”.
Williams boss James Vowles gave his take on the situation, citing the new rules mean there is little chance of taking elements from the current car and implementing them onto next year’s.
“I think you’ll find it’s probably different team by team,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“For us, I’ve been very vocal about this. We pulled the car at the tunnel on January 2nd on purpose.
“We’re here to make sure we have an opportunity. Next year is basically a clean sheet of paper – you can redraw everything. There’s no carryover.
“And for us as Williams, that’s a really good opportunity to make sure we’re just digging out some of the other elements that we need to put foundations in for and get it right.
“But that’s probably an exception, not the rule. But for us, it’s a good reset opportunity.”
2025 situations will lead to ‘different choices’
Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur admitted there is a dilemma in place when it comes to deciding when to push the button on ramping up work on the 2026 car.
Lewis Hamilton has been vocal about his wish to see the team begin that work sooner rather than later, knowing that this year’s car is already on the back foot for a title challenge.
“Yeah. I think every single team has the same topic on the table now: to decide when we have to switch completely to the next year’s project,” he said.
“For sure, every single day in the wind tunnel on the next year’s project, we are making perhaps ten times more improvement than on the current car.
“And it’s always a difficult choice – but that’s life, and we knew before. From the beginning of the season in the press conference, we were speaking about this.
“Due to the circumstances and the situation in the championship, we will make different choices.”
Haas boss Ayao Komatsu gave the perspective of the issue from the point of view of a smaller team, and said that moving of the goalposts with some areas of the regulations causes an additional struggle.
“Obviously, especially for small teams like us, it’s a very significant challenge,” he said. “But it’s the same for everyone – it’s the name of the game. So, we are just getting on with it. But one thing which is difficult is still the technical regulation is not completely stable.
“So, you work on certain things, the regulation changes, then you have to start again. So yeah. But again—it’s the same for everyone. But it’s challenging.”
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