FIA allows teams to use mule cars in preparation for the 2026 technical overhaul

Formula One's governing body, the FIA has approved a rule change, permitting the use of 'mule cars' for ten days of testing this year which should help the F1 outfits prepare themselves for the all-new 2026 technical regulations.

During the summer break, it has emerged that the FIA has updated an important rule of the Sporting Regulation that will allow the use of mule cars for ten days of testing this year in preparation for the 2026 season.

With the sport set to introduce a radically new technical regulation in two years' time, this decision should help teams adjust to the extensive changes coming under the new regulations.

A mule car refers to a chassis adapted for test running to mimic upcoming regulation changes. These cars are modified to reflect the demands of new regulations and can differ significantly from the original car specification.

The rules for mule cars allow teams to update their machinery in various ways to better replicate the upcoming regulation tweaks.

The modified rule, ratified by the World Motor Sport Council, now permits extensive updates and testing of these vehicles, offering teams a way of learning and testing ideas for the 2026 regulations.

Mule cars were last used when the sport was preparing for the switch to the ground-effect cars that F1 uses now. The sport's tyre supplier Pirelli tried to mimic the different aerodynamic configuration to adjust the tyres to the new rules.

The updated rules allow teams to use two very different base car for their mule machines. They could use the current machine that feature the groud-effect aerodynamics.

But they could also elect to base their mule car on a pre-2022 chassis, which aligns more closely size-wise with the 2026 regulations but lacks modern ground-effect aerodynamics.

The updated rule reads: “Testing of Mule Cars (TMC) shall be defined as any track running time, not part of a competition, in which a competitor entered in the championship participates (or in which a third party participates on behalf of a competitor or a supplier of a homologated power unit), using cars which were designed and constructed in order to comply with the technical regulations or with the technical regulations of any of the four calendar years falling immediately prior to the calendar year of the championship, but suitably modified for the purpose of providing the appointed tyre supplier with a means of track testing of its future products or for providing the FIA with a means of testing components or systems for future championship seasons.

“No competitor may sell or make available any such car to any third party without the prior authorisation of the FIA.

“Cars must include and are limited to the minimal modifications necessary for the purpose of testing development tyres or for testing components or systems on behalf of the FIA for future championship seasons, as determined by the FIA.”