F1's new regulations causing headaches for designers

16:45, 17 Nov

byDrew Murphy

Formula 1’s new regulations have caused a stir, as nobody can be sure what the 2026 cars will really be like when they hit the track for the first time.

The regulations, such as impending chassis and engine overhauls, will allow every team the chance to take a major leap forward that has understood the new rulings, while also meaning some can be left far behind.

2026 F1 car's rendering by the FIA - Image: FIA

There is a fear amongst designers that they can find themselves missing key design elements that they only spot when others are running it.

Haas technical director Andrea De Zordo has claimed that teams have dug deeper into the rules, noticed some of the complexities in play and have become nervous about whether their key design decisions are correct.

Doubting your own work

A key area causing issues is attempting to understand where to pitch downforce and drag levels for the new movable wings so that they fit in perfectly with the characteristics of the new power units.

De Zordo explained that because teams are in the dark about where they stack up against others, doubts have emerged over their own work.

He said: “It's probably the side that scares me and scares all the people.

"I'm sure we will discover a lot of things when we use the car for the first time.

"There is a lot of performance in it, and missing something at this stage is very easy.

Audi's F1 2026 concept car.Photo: Audi MediaCenter

"All the power units are very new, and I think even for the PU supplier, they are still discovering things.

"It's a very big challenge, and I'm sure we will learn a lot in all the first part of the season."

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

The Italian explained that teams’ update plans cannot be sorted yet because they don’t know how much will be needed early on.

For example, they could be required to respond to new designs if rivals have something clever at the first test, but there will not have enough time to sort before the start of the first race.

De Zordo added: “We have already spent a lot of time thinking to prepare for next year, and it's impossible now to fix a proper plan.

"So it must be a plan with some options, with step-by-step updates that we will do.

"We are trying to be aggressive by sending production as late as possible for the package for race one, because we cannot prepare this one after we have done the test.

"So it's something that will be in advance of the first test.

"We are pushing as much as possible for this one. After the first test, we'll see. It's all to be discovered."

It's never straightforward

Learning from the 2022 regulation shake-up, teams will know they need to be wary of unexpected headaches, most notably the porpoising of the Mercedes car.

Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin said: "It was the things that you couldn't see coming that caught us out.

“There's always going to be traps, and there's always going to be teams that are disappointed with the job they've done.

Andrew Shovlin. Photo: RacePictures

“You would never walk into a new set of regulations thinking it'll be straightforward.

"There is always the challenge of trying to get a new formula balance correct.

"We can do work in the simulators, but really, until you start running the car on track, you don't know exactly how it's going to behave."

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