By Carlo Platella
We are just months away from the publication of the 2026 aerodynamic regulations, which they will outline the next great revolution for Formula 1, not only at a motorsport level. The new cars will still feature the Venturi channels in the bottom to make the most of the ground effect, maintaining a certain continuity with the current regulations and encouraging the development of the current cars until the end of 2025. However, according to what has recently been learned by FormulaPassionthe new regulation will introduce some subtle and inconspicuous changes that will have a big impact on the next single-seaters.
Inwash funds
In 2026 the Formula 1 cars will still be equipped with Venturi channels in the bottom, exasperating the exploitation of the ground effect and encouraging turning as much as possible low and stiff on the suspension. The bottom will maintain three-dimensional geometries, flattening in the central portion and then rising again near the speaker. What will change, however, will be the entry section of the Venturi channels on the sides of the cockpit, which will be lower and wider compared to current cars.
Looking at current cars from the front, the entrance to the Venturi channels faces entirely inside the front wheels. This situation will change with the enlargement of the entrance section in 2026, making it more difficult to prevent the surface from ingesting tire turbulence. Furthermore, on current cars, the teams use the outermost bulkhead of the Venturi channels to push the turbulence laterally, moving it away from the bottom. From 2026, however, this practice could become much more complicated, if not downright impossible.
The philosophy outwash, which aims to move turbulence outwards to protect the surface, has the side effect of widening the wake of the single-seater, increasing the aerodynamic disturbance for the following car, to the detriment of overtaking opportunities. For this reason the FIA and the teams are considering adding to the bottom of the bulkheads inwash. By reversing the current logic, the bulkheads will collect the turbulence coming from the front, drawing them towards the center of the car. A practice that will favor close pursuits, but which will force teams to study new ways to isolate the bottom from the external environment.
Cleaned edges
Further complicating the protection of the fund is another reform in the pipeline due to the new regulations. The outer edge will come cleaned of fins and appendages currently present, a decision mainly dictated by safety. In fact, many of these components are made with metal parts, which in the event of lateral contact turn into dangerous flying projectiles. It is no coincidence that the Federation has already set a weight limit for metal components in the fund for 2024.
This is a second phase in the bottom cleaning process that began in 2021, when it was forbidden to make openings in the carbon. The processing of the external edge is of great importance for the teams, helping to generate a complex structure of vortices that shields the bottom from the external environment, replicating the role of the old miniskirts in an aerodynamic form. However, between simplification of the edge, widening of the Venturi channels and addition of the inwash bulkheads, managing turbulence promises to be decidedly complicated in 2026even more so if you consider that shortening the wheelbase will bring the front wheels closer to the surface.
They could take on a central role bellies and bodywork, which already on current cars interact aerodynamically with the bottom and act as a screen against the outside. The shapes obtainable with the bodywork will depend greatly on the dimensions of the new power units, with the teams aware that in 2026 the packaging, i.e. the arrangement of the engine, electronic components and radiators, it will be a real challenge. This is not only due to the aerodynamic importance of the bodywork, but also due to the fact that the new regulations will shorten the wheelbase and narrow the track of the single-seaters, reducing the space available under the bonnet.
New wings, “same” tires
The next Formula 1 cars will also present some innovations regarding the wings. In addition to a new front wing, the rear one will again have a more square shape, similar to those the public was used to in 2021. The aerodynamic profiles of the wing will join the external bulkheads with an almost 90° connection and much less rounded than now. The rounded shapes of the 2022 wings were intended to reduce wake vortices and aerodynamic disturbance for the pursuer, but at the expense of the load generated.
Overall, the shortening and narrowing of the single-seaters, combined with the simplification of the floor, will lead to a reduction in overall aerodynamic load. This is an objective desired by the Federation for three reasons, above all the reduction of aerodynamic resistance and consumption, necessary to adapt to the new power units whose electrical power will be tripled.
Furthermore, by limiting the aerodynamic load you will face requests from some pilots, who hope for a reduction in the speeds and lateral accelerations experienced when cornering, so as not to excessively strain the body and in particular the neck. Finally, by containing peak loads, the possibility opens up for Pirelli to keep the current tires or at least not to distort its construction and mix. All this will control research and development costs, a saving for Pirelli, but also for the teams themselves.
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