McLaren Technical Director of Performance, Mark Temple, has offered insight into a new technical dilemma teams face ahead of this year’s new Formula 1 season.
The 2026 season sees the introduction of a brand new regulations cycle which is threatening to imbalance the sport’s status quo in various ways.
A number of new features will see cars be powered differently, with new aerodynamic features, all of which will have caused challenges to teams and drivers alike in their developments.
The new aero characteristics means have left many speculating that many of the teams on the grid will opt for pushrod suspension, something less prevalent during the ground-effect era.
Suspicions about this were thought to be confirmed when the Audi R26 – the first car to complete a shakedown – was spotted sporting double-pushrod.
But perhaps this is a blanket assumption, as Temple, speaking at a McLaren event ahead of its 2026 season launch, believes it will be down to the slight variance the rules will offer teams in terms of front-wing design.
“Various cars had pushrod [and/or] pullrod last year and the previous years,” he said.
“It really comes down to an aerodynamic choice what front suspension set suits your new front wing.
“And obviously the new front wings are all new, so I guess the way that the teams that you’ve seen so far have basically organised their suspension sticks to suit their front-wing package and their front-end package.
“So it’s really aerodynamically driven.
“Both are quite easy to do mechanically, they’re not a particularly difficult mechanical challenge.”
Front wings will be a focal point of the new features on this year’s cars, as the ‘active aero’ setting on the car will allow flaps on the wings – as well as on the rear wings – to be moved by the drivers to increase straightline speed.
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