F1 new 2026 rules chaos behind the scenes. Formula One is about to experience its next big car design rule changes for the 2026 season, but it appears the plan to split the power output 50/50 between electrical components and the traditional combustion engine is in chaos. Big rule changes are less frequent in the modern era of F1 than in the early years of the sport because the investment made by the teams today runs into hundreds of millions of dollars.
Since the turn of the millennium, the infrequent rule changes has seen Formula One suffer eras of dominance by one team or another. Ferrari won six consecutive drivers titles from 1999-2004 before Renault claimed the next two. Following the three years from 2007 which saw Ferrari, McLaren and Brawn GP each win the titles, Red Bull aced the rules from 2010-2013 winning all eight championship trophies on offer.
Then came the big rule change incorporating the switch to V6 Turbo hybrids in 2014 which Mercedes aced winning eight convincing constructor titles in a row. They were eventually toppled by Red Bull and Max Verstappen in the 2021 showdown in the desert before the big ground effect car design rules came in the following season.
Red Bull have aced this era of the F1 car design rules and the expectation is they will claim both titles on offer in 2024 and probably again next year. Whilst the 2026 rule change was proposed to attract more manufacturers – Audi, Honda and Ford as it transpired – it coincides with a car chassis redesign too.
The 2026 cars will retain their ground effect characteristics which were designed to reduce the dirty air coming from the top side aerodynamics of the F1 cars but other than that significant other proposals are on the table.
However, it appears Formula One now finds itself in a bind having finalised the specifications for the new power unit last summer while the chassis design was put back twelve months. A report out today finds that the 50/50 split in electrical and ICE power supply is making the proposed F1 cars of the future “un-drivable” in certain situations.
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In its attempt to reduce the footprint and weight of the current F1 machines, Formula One decided to drop the ban on moveable aero components which excluded DRS alone. The idea was to increase the downforce on the cars’ wings through the corners, before switching to a low drag configuration along the straights.
The path chosen was to develop the rear wing in conjunction with DRS to deliver this solution as the least complicated to design and easiest to police. However, Autosport reveals some teams have been testing what is known as the ‘Fangio’ car model in their simulations in an attempt to understand how exactly this will work but unfortunate characteristics have been discovered.
When the wing is in its low drag configuration and the power unit delivering maximum output, the simulations reveal the car becomes almost “un-drivable” as drivers spin on the straights under acceleration. In cornering too the design is unstable with test drivers struggling to take the simplest turns without the back end strapping out.
The shift in aero balance being recorded is as much as three times more than when currently operating the DRS on the 2024 cars. One driver observed the only was to prevent the cars spinning was to drive to the pace of the current F2 machinery.
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With the deadline for the chassis design rules approaching in just a couple of months, F1 now is forced to look at other aero options to work with the new V6 turbo hybrid engines, but time is short.
The FIA working party now believes the aero will have to be managed across both front and rear wings to provide the stability required. Ensuring the wings operate in tandem should help reduce the dramatic aero balance shift being experienced at present, although the technical solutions for this are not the matter of a few days work.
Christian Horner last summer famously described the 2026 F1 cars as “Frankenstein” monsters when he revealed the Red Bull simulations had the engine merely operating as a generator for the battery at circuits where the straights were long. The Red Bull boss called on the FIA to reduce the electrical power percentage which would solve the problem.
Yet inevitably, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff mocked the Red Bull observations stating: “I think what frightens him [Horner] more maybe is that his engine programme is not coming along and maybe he wants to kill it that way,” Wolff said.
“You always have to question what is the real motivation to say something like that.”
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The big question Toto should have really been asking himself was, ‘how far ahead are Red Bull given our simulations do not show this yet?’
Now speaking to motorsport.com, Horner choses to graciously avoid the “I told you so” type gloating, as F1 now chases the June deadline for the 2026 regulations to be finalised.
“I think there’s been some good progression,” said Horner. “I think that the FIA have taken on board some of the feedback and some alterations have been made.”
“We’re waiting for the chassis regulations, which will be a fundamental part of the 2026 package now and how that interacts with these power units.
“The various working groups are working hard on that and it’s important that we conclude something in the near future.”
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When asked if there Red Bull simulator findings were still a cause for concern, Horner played it safe.
“The rules are the same for everybody at the end of the day. So, it’s how you apply them and translate them. I don’t think we’re afraid of whatever the rules will be, as it’s the same starting point for everybody.
“When they’re finalised, that’s when we’ll no doubt discover whatever issues there are with the rules, but that’s no different to any other regulation change.”
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Red Bull with the services of Adrian Newey have proven themselves to be the masters of aero since joining Formula One. If their simulations believe the new rules are problematic then the likes of Wolff et al. should pay heed.
The new power unit regulations were originally due in 2021, but as is the case in modern Formula One a lack of agreement saw the deadlines come and go. Now the teams are scrabbling to finalise framing the regulations with just over three months before they should be set in stone.
Given the teams are forbidden from doing any wind tunnel design work on the 2026 cars until January, the June deadline can be allowed to slip without too much impact on the planning for the next breed of F1 machines.
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