(Motorsport-Total.com) – When the Formula 1 rules for 2026 were introduced, the FIA often spoke of the so-called “agile car concept.” The vehicles were supposed to become smaller and lighter, although it must be noted that the changes turned out to be relatively minor.
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The wheelbase is 20 centimeters shorter this year, while the 2026 cars are also ten centimeters narrower. The minimum weight was set at 768 kilograms, which means a reduction of 32 kilograms compared to last season.
Together with significantly less downforce, which means that drivers have to work harder at the steering wheel again and the cars look less like they are running on rails, the main goals were achieved.
However, there was hardly any discussion about this in the first eight months of the year, as everything was overshadowed by criticism of power units and energy management. On the chassis side, FIA Formula Sport Director Nikolas Tombazis believes that the new regulations represent a step forward.
“I think probably yes, although you should never assume that the work is finished. But I believe that the cars can follow each other more closely,” Tombazis said in a conversation with a selected group of media representatives.
According to the FIA, the influence of the so-called ‘dirty air’ has been reduced to the level observed in the first year under the previous regulations. Tombazis is confident that teams will have fewer opportunities this time to undermine the spirit of the regulations with clever solutions.
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“I think we are at a similar level as at the start of the 2022 season, but I think it is a bit more robust this year,” he emphasizes and explains: “Regarding the various aerodynamic solutions, we have found nothing that would have undermined the concept.”
“In the previous regulations, however, there were some things that actually significantly impaired the concept,” he admits and reports: “This mainly concerned the endplates of the front wings of the last generation cars, the edges of the underbody, and all the attachments around the front wheels.”
“All these elements significantly worsened the characteristics of the vortices. We have learned from that, and hopefully there will be no comparable problem this time,” says Tombazis.
Besides following other cars and the effects of ‘dirty air,’ Tombazis also sees positively that the drivers have their hands full with the new vehicles. “For the drivers, the cars are still quite difficult to drive,” he explains.
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“I think that’s good because these are not vehicles that everyone can drive easily. Some of the aerodynamic rules mean that teams cannot optimally balance every single aspect of a car in a corner. This presents certain challenges for the drivers.”
“If we have the 22 best drivers in the world, we should also use cars that are not exactly easy to drive for my grandmother,” says Tombazis. Furthermore, the cars are physically somewhat less demanding for the drivers than before, especially because the ground-effect vehicles had to be extremely low and stiffly tuned.
“We have also raised the vehicle heights a bit. As a result, the cars are not quite as brutal as last year,” he explains.
FIA wants to achieve “significant improvement” in weight
The overall package on the chassis side satisfies Tombazis, although he emphasizes that the FIA wants to go further. However, this will not be possible during the current regulatory cycle. The goal therefore applies to the next regulations, which are to come into effect in 2031 – or already in 2030 if there is sufficient support for it.
“The cars are a bit lighter and a bit smaller, which the drivers have welcomed. But is that the point where I would like to see us? No. I would like them to be another 80 kilograms lighter and maybe also a bit shorter and smaller,” he reveals.
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“That is the objective: We want to make another big step compared to what was possible now. I think this is not a bad step. But I am not saying: Yes, the work is done, this is the goal,” emphasizes Tombazis.
“In the future, we want to take another step towards lighter cars and also achieve a significant improvement in weight,” he explains. For now, however, Tombazis is satisfied, especially because the long-standing trend towards ever larger and heavier Formula 1 cars has finally been reversed.
“I think this is the first time that Formula 1 cars have become lighter since probably the year 2000 – at least since then, maybe even since an earlier point,” he emphasizes.
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