Since the current regulations were introduced in 2022, fans have become used to seeing teams opt for bare carbon fibre panels over eye-catching colourful designs.

It has become a running joke with the current generation of cars, with many fans tuning in forgiven for thinking someone had turned down the saturation on their TV.

But with the teams just months away from launching their brand new 2026 designs, they might have to factor more paint into their budget after the FIA announced a new rule change for 2026.

At the fourth and final Formula 1 Commission meeting of 2025, the FIA made the final adjustments to the incoming 2026 regulations.

This included a rule aimed at tackling the issue of teams covering significant portions of their cars in plain carbon fibre.

The FIA’s statement read: “It was agreed by Commission representatives that a minimum of 55% of surface area (when viewed from the side and above) must be covered by painted or stickered liveries as opposed to bare carbon fibre surfaces. 

Though teams are now mandated to paint a specified proportion of the car, the potential for this rule to transform the appearance of next year's grid must not be overstated as bare carbon fibre is still allowed to cover just under half of the car's surface.

Though 800kg may not seem like a lot compared to a typical two-tonne family SUV, the current generation of F1 are the heaviest in the sport’s history.

Keeping the weight of designs down has been a particular issue for designers since 2022 and, believe it or not, paint can have a noticeable impact on performance.

As teams fought for every competitive advantage between 2022 to 2025, it became increasingly common to see new designs released with a significant portion of the car’s surface area covered in black.

This trend reached its peak in 2024, with the first four cars launched - courtesy of Haas, Williams, Kick Sauber and Alpine - all featuring black carbon fibre patchwork designs.

Teams like Mercedes and Red Bull typically run a darker paint scheme, so were able to disguise their carbon fibre panelling more subtly.

But on other cars, like the Alpine A524, the exposed carbon fibre panels were less easy to hide.

The French team ultimately updated their design for the fourth race in Japan, adding more blue to areas like the nosecone.

While many F1 teams have been more generous with their paint use in 2025, the FIA's rule change indicates that the topic of making F1 cars more distinct from each other is still something they are keen to address.

Audi became the first team to tease their 2026 design, but it is not yet known how the remaining 10 teams intent to shape up for next season.

Come launch season in early 2026, next year's F1 teams will present 11 dramatically new designs as the sport embarks on the most significant regulation change in a generation.

It'll be a new era for the sport and one which promises to provide intrigue and maybe, just maybe, a little more colour.

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