F1 | Technique 2026: revised wings to give freedom to the active aircraft

During this week, the FIA ​​officially revealed the regulations that will distinguish the 2026 Formula 1 single-seaters, which represent a sort of revolution of the revolution. If the 2022 rules had already pushed for a break with the recent past, moving closer to ground effect to reduce aerodynamic turbulence in the wake and facilitate duels on the track, in two years the top series will change route again.

The 2026 cars will have a new identity, abandoning the ground effect known during this technical cycle, given a lower effectiveness of the diffuser and the bottom, with the latter returning to being almost totally flat, allowing less rigid setups to be used to hold the car low.

However, the revolution does not only pass through these aspects, but also through two elements that depend on each other, namely the new Power Units and active aerodynamics. To attract new manufacturers, Formula 1 pushed for an engine change, giving greater importance to the hybrid, with a uniform distribution of around 50% each between the electric and thermal parts.

Given that the MGU-H will disappear on the new generation units, the system that currently contributes to powering the MGU-K in addition to the energy that passes through the battery, some doubts immediately emerged regarding the possibilities of continuously powering an electric motor that will go from the current 120 kW to 350 kW in 2026. For this reason the FIA ​​immediately took action on two different fronts: on the one hand it was decided to artificially limit the output of the MGU-K above a certain speed , while on the other hand we thought about a greater relevance of active aerodynamics.

“One of the aspects of PU 2026 is the increased dependence on electricity. If the 2026 PU were inserted into a current car, it would require a lot of energy given the levels of aerodynamic resistance, which would not be in line with the characteristics of the new engines. There would be a strong drop in speed, so we thought about reducing the level of basic aerodynamic resistance on the new cars”, explained Jason Somerville, director of the aerodynamic department of the FIA, who underlined how much the new aerodynamics of the cars are dependent on from the high energy needs of future Power Units.

Revised wings to have more freedom over active aerodynamics

According to data released by the governing body, the load has been reduced by approximately 30%, while the resistance by 55%. To limit the use of energy, the entire aerodynamic part of the single-seaters has been revised, also opting for greater freedom in the use of mobile components. Both the front and rear wings will in fact have two configurations to be used depending on the area of ​​the track: the X-mode, or the low-load one, will only be usable on the straights to reduce drag, while the curve, where greater aerodynamic load is needed.

If mobile aerodynamics is currently used only to facilitate overtaking through the use of DRS, in 2026 it will instead become an integral part of the operation of the cars on the track. The driver will be able to independently switch from one mode to another by pressing a button on the steering wheel, but only in areas pre-established by the Federation. A useful move to reduce energy and fuel consumption on the straights, which also pushed the governing body to review the shape of the two wings.

FIA 2026 F1 car rendering

Photo by: FIA

At the rear, the endplates will no longer be connected to the mainplane, but will return to the shapes in use until 2021 with the upper part completely flat. In addition to the endplates, the elements that will make up the rear wing will be three, one more than the units in use in the current technical cycle. Currently, in fact, in addition to the mainplane there is a mobile flap which allows a maximum opening of 85mm. On the contrary, with the new regulation, in addition to the mainplane (red in the opening image) which will remain fixed, there will be two other mobile elements which, in the FIA ​​forecasts, should guarantee a wider movement compared to the current DRS, with a decrease of even more marked resistance to advancement. We opted for several elements also to avoid the detachment of the flow with too high an incidence.

“To reduce drag, we have an active part of the rear wing, similar to the DRS system we currently have, although with more moving elements, which move to a greater extent,” explains Somerville.

However, given such a marked load reduction at the rear, to rebalance the car it proved necessary to also review the front wing, allowing the same movement of the unit at the rear: “From our simulation work with teams and drivers, it was clear that it was necessary to have a front wing with active elements to adapt to the balancing characteristics due to the opening of the rear wing”.

Aero active on 2026 cars: 2 of the 3 elements at the rear will change incidence to reduce drag

Photo by: FIA

In some conditions the riders did not feel comfortable with a large aerodynamic balance at the front, i.e. with a lot of load on the front and little on the rear. This led us to the need to have an active front wing, in addition to the active rear one.”

At the front, narrower wings will return with a scoop profile and a philosophy aimed towards in-wash, reminiscent of the pre-2009 shapes. Although the definitive rules have not yet been released, which should be approved at the next world council, the number of flaps should also decrease, moving to three components: the mainplane in the lowest position will remain fixed, while the other two upper elements can vary by incidence to rebalance the car.

The 2009 experiment

The use of mobile aerodynamics is certainly not new, not only because it uses the same principles as the current DRS, in use since 2011, but also because it was tested in 2009 and 2010. Always with the intention of facilitating overtaking , in those two years the FIA ​​allowed the teams to introduce a system that modified the incidence of the front wing flap, so that the drag of the car could be reduced.

In 2009 several cars adopted a system that allowed the incidence of the front flap to be altered to reduce drag. The system was later abandoned in favor of DRS

Photo credit: Sutton Images

That system, controlled by an electric motor placed in the endplate which can be activated by the driver directly from a button on the steering wheel, never reached all the cars, given that some teams decided not to adopt it to save costs. In reality, given its limited effectiveness in encouraging overtaking, drivers used it more to alter the balance of the car, although those experiments eventually led to DRS in 2011. Basically, however, the operation on the 2026 front wing will be the same, even if the new system will guarantee a more pronounced incidence and, consequently, greater effectiveness than the one used in 2009 and 2010.

“The active front wing is nothing new. Already in 2009 the regulations provided for an active front wing, although it was not used much and consequently was not maintained in. So, active front wing technology is not new, but it is just the first time we have planned to include it in the regulations as part of an overall reduction in drag and downforce for specific parts of the lap,” added the director of the FIA aerodynamic department.