Written By Carl Hilliard, Edited by Sharifah Zaqreeztrina
Formula 1’s all-new 2026 regulations have been revealed in car form, showing off the new designs along with details surrounding the upcoming changes. The news was announced ahead of the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
New power units, fully sustainable fuel, and a brand new ‘nimble car’ concept are some of the adjustments coming to the 2026 ruleset change, with more focus on electrical power. Along with the new cars now being shorter and much narrower, these cars will be a whopping 30 kg lighter than the current cars in 2024.
Some other key takeaways include the floor width being reduced by 150mm, the wheel base being reduced to 3400mm, and the overall car width dropping from 2000mm to 1900mm. The 18 inch wheels will carry over, however the front and rear tyres will see a decent sized decrease in overall width, now being 25mm and 30mm respectively.
Drag has been massively decreased by 55% to help with racing and straight line speed, with downforce being reduced by 30%.
Gone are the front wheel arches that we have come to know quite well, with a complete redesign on the front end of the car. The rear end sees some modifications too, with a rear wing similar to that of the wings we’ve seen before the 2022 aero changes, thanks to the new streamlined end plates and the removal of the lower beam wing.
One of the biggest changes overall is the removal of the drag reduction system(DRS), and it will be replaced by Manual Override Mode, akin to a push-to-pass style boost.
Brand new safety features are being introduced, with a two-stage front impact structure and increasing side intrusion protection, as well as rear wing endplate lights being made much brighter in addition.
On the new design reveal, FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said: “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 remain at the cutting edge of technology, and to achieve this we worked towards what we called a ‘nimble car’ concept,” Tombazis continued.
Concluding on the 2026 concept design, Tombazis added: “Lighter, more powerful and more focused on driver skill, the 2026 FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations have been designed to provide closer racing among drivers, increase the competition between teams, and to improve the spectacle.”
These new list of rule changes are due to be formally approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council on June 28th 2024. Will these regulations bring a true change to the racing element and provide true, close battles out on track? Only time will tell.
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