When the ground effect regulations were implemented in 2022, the FIA and F1's promise of closer, better and more exciting racing was true for about half a season, and for the remaining 3 and a half years F1 often yielded procession races which ultimately became defined largely by whoever was ahead at the first corner at the start of the race.

Teams found loopholes in the aerodynamic regulations which allowed them to seal the underfloor's airflow through the venturi channels to the rear diffuser, and by way of vortices to implement an outwash effect to provide better and cleaner structure to the airflow at the rear of the car.

However, this principle, used in the front wings too, generated loads of dirty unmanageable air that would make it impossible for the cars behind to follow closely due to the turbulence they generated, which resulted in the trailing cars experiencing understeer to oversteer snaps, higher brake and tyre temperatures and an overall decrease in performance.

For F1 2026 the FIA has simplified the underfloor's design and will introduce a nimble car concept dropping 30 kg of weight and nuancing the amount of the downforce that will come from the underbody.

The upcoming regulations will scrap the underfloor's complex venturi tunnels for a flatter surface to counter the side-effects - porpoising, mid-corner balance shifts, overreactiveness to bumpy surfaces, etc - of the highly effective yet difficult to administrate downforce levels of the ground effect cars.

Further restrictions in the aerodynamic regulations have been put in place to prevent teams from integrating bits and pieces that increase the dirty air levels in an F1 car's wake.

The re-introduction of active aerodynamics should help the cars maintain consistent levels of downforce through the corners - when the rear and front wing flaps are up - and optimise straightline speed - when the rear and front wing flaps are down - without hindering the following cars.

Although these initiatives look great on paper, as always there will be obstacles that arise that catch teams, F1 and the FIA off guard, much like porpoising did, an issue that continued to afflict teams from the start of 2022 to the end of 2025.

Mercedes has introduced a cylinder compression method - which Red Bull Ford is also implementing - that increases the engine’s compression ratio, reportedly worth up to 0.4 seconds per lap. Read the story here.

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