F1 teams nervous about major 2026 rule changes
No one knows what Formula 1 cars will actually look like when the 2026 regulations hit the track – and that’s making teams seriously anxious.
The massive chassis and engine overhauls coming in 2026 could completely shake up the grid. Teams that nail the new rules could leap to the front, while others might find themselves struggling at the back.
What’s really keeping engineers up at night? The fear that they’ll miss something crucial in their designs – something they’ll only notice when they see other teams’ cars.
Haas technical director Andrea De Zordo admits teams are getting more nervous as they dig deeper into the complex new rules.
“It’s probably the side that scares me and scares all the people,” De Zordo said.
The balancing act
One of the trickiest challenges is figuring out the right downforce and drag levels for the new movable wings. These need to work perfectly with the characteristics of the brand-new power units.
Without knowing what competitors are doing, teams are second-guessing their own work.
“I’m sure we will discover a lot of things when we use the car for the first time,” De Zordo explained. “There is a lot of performance in it, and missing something at this stage is very easy.”
Even the engine manufacturers are still figuring things out.
“All the power units are very new, and I think even for the PU supplier, they are still discovering things. It’s a very big challenge.”
Flying blind into 2026
The uncertainty is making it impossible for teams to create solid update plans. They might need to respond to clever designs from rivals after the first test, but won’t have time before the season starts.
“We have already spent a lot of time thinking to prepare for next year, and it’s impossible now to fix a proper plan,” De Zordo said.
Teams are trying to delay production decisions as long as possible while still being ready for the first race.
“We are trying to be aggressive by sending production as late as possible for the package for race one. We are pushing as much as possible for this one. After the first test, we’ll see. It’s all to be discovered.”
Lessons from the past
Teams learned some tough lessons from the 2022 regulation changes. Mercedes, in particular, got caught out by porpoising – the violent bouncing that plagued their car and hurt their performance.
Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin remembers it well: “It was the things that you couldn’t see coming that caught us out.”
“There’s always going to be traps, and there’s always going to be teams that are disappointed with the job they’ve done.”
The simulator work can only take teams so far.
“We can do work in the simulators, but really, until you start running the car on track, you don’t know exactly how it’s going to behave,” Shovlin added.
For now, F1 teams are in a strange position – spending millions designing cars while knowing they might miss something crucial that only becomes obvious when it’s too late.
The 2026 season could be one of the most unpredictable in F1 history.
