F1 | Mule cars approved for 2026 tests, including pre-ground effects

In the latest regulatory revisions, the FIA ​​has approved several innovations both with a view to 2024 and aimed at the future of the category, in particular 2026 which will represent a real moment of detachment for Formula 1 from the past.

If the 2026 regulation will be re-discussed in these months with a new draft that should be released around October, which will also be linked to an extraordinary meeting of the F1 Commission right in that period to discuss issues relating to the next generation of cars.

In the meantime, clearly the partners and various suppliers must be given the opportunity to start working on what will be the 2026 project, as in the case of Pirelli, which will clearly have to face a test path on the track before homologating its products. Alongside the virtual preparation of the tires with systems in the factory that allow experimentation without physically going on the track, on the other hand it is essential to have real references, which is why Pirelli will have a number of days set by the FIA ​​to test its products.

The testing will begin this year, alongside the development of the 2025 tyres: the work for 2026 behind the scenes has already begun, but the on-track testing will start in September in the period between the Azerbaijan and Singapore Grand Prix, with Aston Martin having been drawn first. Many teams have in fact given their availability to take part in the testing together with Pirelli, but the British team has been drawn first.

As happened in the past, when Pirelli was preparing to face the revolution of the 2017 tyres, which were larger and heavier, as well as that of the 2022 tyres, which included a different size, also on this occasion the cars will be able to be modified to help the Milanese company in the course of the development of the new 2026 tyres. In 2017, for example, the teams were allowed to use larger rear wings and create aerodynamic devices to simulate the higher loads of the new rules, while for 2022 the teams modified the suspensions to adapt to the needs of the 18” rims.

With a view to 2026, the Federation has inserted a specific paragraph in the latest draft of the regulation so that testing can begin as early as September. In fact, to modify the cars, in order to try to adapt to the 2026 rules, which will include loads 30% lower than the current ones, as well as smaller and lighter cars, approval from the governing body was needed, which is very restrictive regarding what teams can do with recent single-seaters, so that no one can in any way benefit from it.

Pirelli tyres in the paddock

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

For testing in view of 2026, teams can use chassis built according to the technical regulations of any of the four seasons preceding the current one, i.e. from 2020 to 2023. This also includes cars before the start in ground effect which, in some respects, should come closer to what the future rules will be. In fact, with the next technical cycle the surface will once again have a lesser importance, given that it will be almost completely flat, so as not to force teams to use extremely rigid setups to keep the cars as close as possible to the asphalt.

However, Pirelli has already made it clear that it will be very difficult to recreate the lighter, more aerodynamic cars that the 2026 cars will have. While previous mule cars were modified to increase their size and weight in view of the upcoming regulations, teams must now prepare to follow the opposite path. This will be an element that will weigh especially on the ground effect cars, which are quite heavy. They can play with some elements, such as the use of fuel and lighten some elements, but recreating the same peculiarities will also represent a challenge for Pirelli.

Even on the aerodynamic front it will not be easy: while in the past it was possible to add aerodynamic elements to increase the downforce, the new regulations for 2026 foresee complex active aerodynamics, which will be very difficult to replicate.

Of course, nothing prevents the mule cars from changing in the coming months with some solutions to make the data collected more reliable. Until the end of the year, the Italian company will have 10 days to test the 2026 tires, while in 2025 they will increase to a total of 40 days.