The new aerodynamics: goodbye to ground effect and the mobile wings become decisive

The power unit revolution has also forced aerodynamics to be revolutionized. The energy thirst of the new hybrid part, three times more powerful than in the past, made it essential to think of a new generation of single-seaters, much more aerodynamically efficient. Formula 1 thus says goodbye to ground effect and decisively embraces active aerodynamics, which becomes an important challenge. This time the FIA ​​also intends to use an iron fist against the solutions arising from the holes in the regulation, changing its approach to the gray areas. The new philosophy The new regulations try to reverse the trend of recent decades, timidly returning to smaller, lighter and more agile single-seaters. The width goes from 2000 to 1900 mm, while the wheelbase is also shortened, with the distance between the front and rear wheels dropping from 3600 to 3400 mm. Furthermore, the parenthesis reopened in 2022 for ground effect cars comes to an end, returning to cars that still release a good part of the aerodynamic load from the bottom, but with a growing percentage from the wings. The Venturi channels therefore disappear, with the return of the good old flat surface, which is why cars will no longer have to work close to the ground, but will once again be able to turn higher. The suspension settings are gradually softened, moving away from the extremely rigid Formula 1 models of recent years, to the benefit of driving comfort and mechanical grip at slow speeds. There is also curiosity to see if someone will propose the rake setup again, with the car pitched forward to make the diffuser work better. As for the wings, the front one goes from 4 to 3 profiles and is narrower, the portion of which useful for generating aerodynamic load is contained inside the wheels. At the rear, the beam wing above the diffuser disappears, while the upper wing returns to a more squared shape and with the profiles increasing from 2 to 3. An even more important change, however, concerns the active aerodynamics, more complex than in the past, controlling the opening of 2 profiles of the rear wing and the same number of the rear one, for 3 times greater effectiveness than the previous DRS. It is no coincidence that this is a field where an important match is played. The importance of active aerodynamics Unlike the old DRS, the new active aerodynamics will not be usable exclusively in qualifying or for attacking. All drivers will be able to activate it at any time on a straight line or in any case in predefined areas, as it is essential to reduce resistance and reduce the hybrid’s electricity consumption. The cars will therefore have different aerodynamic modes: one with closed wings in corners, called Z-Mode, and the other with open wings on the straight, renamed X-Mode. At the discretion of the race direction, in some areas or in damp track conditions there will also be a partial activation, with only the front wing opening. The teams will have to develop not one but two aerodynamic stages, with all the resulting complications, as underlined to The Tech Formula by Andrea De Zordo, technical director of Haas: “Even just analyzing the data in the wind tunnel is much more complicated. Before there was a single configuration, which is why the balance and efficiency were verified with just that guise. […]. Now, however, the machine will normally operate in two standard configurations in different parts of the circuit. We need to understand what relevance to give to each of them.” Already in the past we observed a different effectiveness between the DRS of the individual teams, exploiting the interaction between the rear wing, beam wing and diffuser to reduce the resistance generated by the bottom. One can therefore imagine the opportunities that now arise with active aerodynamics three times more powerful, always available and acting on both spoilers. “You might be able to control what happens when the wings open and how the flow structure influences the rest of the car”, observes Tim Goss, Chief Technical Officer of Racing Bulls. The objective is to exploit the opening of the wings to also reduce the resistance of the floor, which will also work higher in the straight line, thanks to the decompression of the suspension when the wings are activated. The 2026 revolution also represents an opportunity to continue the aerodynamic cleaning work, improving the quality of the wake to facilitate close pursuits appendages present in the center of the car until 2021, which is why the suspension arms continue to be the only elements interposed between the front wing and the floor, playing an important role. The new single-seaters also adopt an inwash philosophy, with various elements to draw the trail inwards to reduce the disturbance for those chasing, however, they have the opposite interest, always trying to remove the turbulence of the wheels, as they are sources of losses for the floor aware, trying to counteract the practice through strict requirements on the shapes for the aerodynamic surfaces. Never before, the FIA is intent on ensuring that the teams respect the spirit of the regulations. ask us for clarification, we would never listen to you”, the warning to FormulaPassion from Nikolas Tombazis, technical director of the FIA single-seater department. “For any clarification we are asked by the teams, if we believe that the question we were asked is such as to actually indicate a gray area with little clarity, we would make sure to send an identical communication to all the teams”. The intention is not to repeat the case of the double diffuser of 2009, when there had been communications between the FIA and only some teams, leading the teams to work with different interpretations of the regulations. At least in words, the priority now is that the rules are clear for everyone. The expected performances In their current form the regulations present numerous differences compared to the initial draft published in June 2024. The first simulations envisaged worrying scenarios, with performances slightly superior to Formula 2. Since then the FIA and teams have made several changes, for example lengthening the diffuser, redesigning the bodywork in the wheel area and bringing the endplates closer to the style of previous cars. It is estimated that thanks to the changes the downforce has increased by 50 points, with the total going from -40% to -15% compared to the 2025 ground effect cars, values similar to those of 2022-2023. However, they are simple reference values, since there are very different predictions between the various teams, testifying to the development of different concepts. Overall, active aerodynamics could lead to achieving higher speeds on the straight. with burning acceleration thanks to the immediate torque of the electric motor. The reduction in minimum weight and the softening of the suspension will also improve agility in slow speeds, while the mileage in fast corners could worsen, although not by much. However, we expect lap times to be close to those of recent years, but only the track will be able to confirm this.