The 2026 single-seaters will never be like the rendering that the FIA presented before the Canadian GP. In the meeting that the teams held on Saturday in Montreal with the championship promoter, the team principals pointed out that some aspects that should characterize the so-called agile cars are unrealistic.
The teams carried out their simulations from which it emerged that the weight reduction of around 30 kg will be practically impossible given that the manufacturers of the power units have been granted an increase in mass from 151 kg to 185 kg, a delta which is higher to the weight you would like to save.
In the federal legislator’s idea there would be a desire to reduce the size of the cars (20 cm wheelbase; 10 cm width) by tightening the tires which will remain 18 inches, but these interventions would not be enough to compensate for the increase in weight granted to the motorists, even if the use of metal-matrix, magnesium and titanium in the construction of some parts were to be authorized.
The International Federation is aware that efforts must be made on the chassis part to reach the project target, but the teams’ fear is that by liberalizing noble materials they will only risk a significant increase in costs in favor of a modest reduction in weight.
FIA 2026 F1 car rendering
Photo by: FIA
According to the teams, the performance of the car proposed by the FIA will not be adequate for the pinnacle series of world motor racing, coming closer to Formula 2 than to the current Formula 1. The idea, therefore, will be to change the cards on the table: the change in aerodynamic philosophy, reintroducing a flat bottom in place of the Venturi channels and reducing the effectiveness of the rear extractor, to reduce the aerodynamic load by 30% does not seem the best way to obtain a good final result.
Once approved by the FIA World Council, the draft regulations can be amended, but to change the rules it will be necessary to reach a majority of the teams. And it won’t be easy to find full team collaboration without someone looking for advantages to bring ideas and solutions that they know best.
In short, let’s prepare ourselves for a rather turbulent phase of defining the rules in which the political aspect could have a decidedly greater weight than the technical and sporting one. Someone has thought of increasing the availability of fuel for the combustion engine, to avoid the possibility of there being moments in which a PU with a flat battery could find itself running with almost 50% less power.
Nikolas Tombazis, FIA manager of the single-seater sector, is confident that there can be collaboration between manufacturers to find a regulatory synthesis that will allow us to decide on a 2026 F1 in line with expectations. The doubt is that an underground battle could be triggered with low blows…
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