ANALYSIS: The FIA explains how the active aerodynamics will work
FIA's Head of Aerodynamics Jason Somerville explained that one of the key goals of the 2026 technical overhaul has been to ensure that cars can race closely.
Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, the FIA and Formula One released the technical regulations that will define the sport from 2026 onwards.
One of the key changes is that the new cars will be 30kg lighter than current generation F1 cars which should improve efficiency and handling.
Power units will also go through a significant overhaul as the much-debated MGU-H will be ditched and the ratio between the internal combustion engine and the electrical energy will be even.
The maximum deployment of electrical energy via the MGU-K (motor generator unit - kinetic) will go from 120 kilowatts (160 hp) under the current regs to a whopping 350 kw (475 hp) -- the same power output as the motor in a Formula E car.
The complete overhaul of the power unit has prompted the sport to introduce active aerodynamics to suit the energy management requirements of new power units. The new cars will run on 100% sustainable fuel.
FIA's Head of Aerodynamics Jason Somerville stressed that it has been vital to establish a harmony between the aerodynamics and the power unit of the 2026 car which should help each other.
"The main goal of the 2026 era rules is really to come focus on the re-establishing the following car performance. We really want great racing so we want to ensure that the cars can race closely so it's an opportunity for us to reset the baseline level of the cars so they can race together, but also to make sure that the aerodynamics package is closely working with the power unit.
"Clearly the power unit has different characteristics with a greater electrical component and that means as the heart of the car we really need to make sure that the aerodynamics complement that power unit.
"If you were to drop the 2026 power unit into a current car the drag level so that the energy required to pull the car through the air is quite high and that really wouldn't be very well aligned with the characteristics of the power unit.
"One of the main changes for 2026 aerodynamics is that the bulk of the drag of the car the aerodynamic drag comes from the rear wing so in order to reduce the overall drag we have an active element on the rear wing. It is very akin to the DRS system that we currently have, although we have a slightly more elaborate system.
Somerville said that the governing body needed to make tweaks to the aero concept of the future cars as the early version tended to have too much downforce at the front when the DRS is deployed on the straights.
These concerns prompted the governing body to come up with an active front wing that can balance out the cars on the straights.
"We have more moving elements, and they move to a greater degree. As soon as you have a rear wing that moves - from our simulation work with the teams and with drivers - it was pretty clear that you needed to have an active front wing to match the balance characteristics.
"There are certain conditions where the drivers didn't feel comfortable with a car which had an enormously forward aero balance so lots of downforce on the front and not much downforce on the rear. That led us towards the need to having an active front wing as well as an active rear wing.
"The difference between the DRS on the current car and the plans for the 2026 car really comes down to the way that we use the devices around the lap. Typically, DRS is an overtaking aid, and you tend to grant DRS when you're within one second of a lead car. The difference with the 2026 car is that will be giving the cars the ability on their own to switch between these high downforce and low drag modes.
"So at various points around the lap, the driver will be able to switch into a low drag mode to give them the performance down the straights where they're not grip limited and at a certain point around the lap as you approach the braking zone, you'll then switch back to your high downforce mode.
"This is an active system that's controlled by the driver, although he'll get a trigger in the same way that he does get a trigger now to say when he can activate the system, and it will be fully driver controlled, and then it would switch back either under driver control or by a brake pressure.
"Certainly the aim for these regulations is to ensure a fantastic racing spectacle, so we've been really focusing on making sure the cars can race closely. The active aerodynamics is a part of that and really should help complement the new power unit.
"As a group we're very excited with the prospect of seeing how the cars emerge, how the racing is we know what we think the cars might look like, but that will almost certainly be different to what actually comes out to some degree from the teams after their development cycles. That's a really exciting period of our regulation writing phase."
