Plans for smaller and greener F1 cars unveiled

Formula 1 cars will beryllium smaller, nimbler and much environmentally friends from 2026, nan sport’s governing assemblage nan FIA has said.

Cars will beryllium 30kg lighter, 10cm narrower and person engines pinch a adjacent 50-50 divided betwixt electrical and soul combustion powerfulness - and usage afloat sustainable fuels.

The FIA described nan conception astatine nan bosom of nan 2026 rules arsenic a “nimble car”.

Active aerodynamics will beryllium utilized to optimise nan usage of nan caller engines.

Cars will person beforehand and rear wings that unfastened connected nan straights to trim resistance and summation speed, but past adjacent to summation downforce for cornering performance.

And overtaking will beryllium facilitated by a power-boost strategy for a car pursuing another, to beryllium known arsenic manual override mode.

This is alternatively of nan existent DRS (drag-reduction system) overtaking aid.

The caller hybrid engines, which triple nan magnitude of electrical powerfulness used, person attracted 2 caller manufacturers into F1 successful nan style of Audi and Ford, and persuaded Honda to reverse its determination to discontinue nan sport.

Along pinch Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault, and nan caller Red Bull Powertrains institution pinch which Ford is joining forces, location will beryllium a full of six motor manufacturers successful F1 successful 2026.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: “The cardinal features of nan 2026 regulations are advanced, sustainable exertion and safety. Our aim, together pinch F1, was to nutrient a car that was correct for nan early of nan sport’s elite category. We judge we person achieved that goal.”

The rules are a portion of F1’s promise to spell net-zero c by 2030.

The FIA’s announcement connected Thursday, connected nan eve of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, is nan first confirmation of nan 2026 chassis rules - nan changes to nan engines person been known for 2 years.

The caller regulations governing cars include:

There has been disapproval that nan preamble of progressive aerodynamics arsenic a basal operating characteristic of nan car is unnecessarily complex.

But they person been employed because nan resistance of nan cars needed to beryllium reduced and braking distances accrued truthful capable power could beryllium recovered during braking to proviso nan overmuch greater electrical capacity of nan powerfulness unit.

FIA single-seater method head Jan Monchaux said: “The DRS connected nan rear helping will not beryllium utilized to facilitate overtaking immoderate more. It will beryllium utilized by default connected each consecutive by each car to driblet resistance levels, because this comes pinch immoderate beardown benefits for power consumption.

“But besides having higher apical velocity allows you to retrieve much [energy] erstwhile you’re braking astatine nan extremity of nan straight.”

On nan caller overtaking boost system, Monchaux said drivers would beryllium allowed to usage much electrical power than their force if they were wrong a fixed region of nan car successful beforehand earlier nan extremity of a lap.

The moveable aerodynamics person been required because nan caller engines are little businesslike than nan existing ones arsenic a consequence of nan removal for 2026 of nan costly and analyzable Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H) - a portion of nan hybrid strategy that recovers power from nan turbocharger.

Without nan MGU-H, different intends were needed to retrieve capable power for nan accrued electrical powerfulness from nan motor - which is being raised from 120kW to 350kW.

Head of aerodynamics Jason Somerville said nan FIA had turned to moveable aerodynamics to trim resistance because different nan cars would person “experienced a terrible driblet successful velocity astatine nan extremity of nan emblematic main straights”.

Other than nan removal of nan MGU-H, nan engines will beryllium akin to nan existing ones - 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrids.

A cardinal alteration is nan preamble of a 100% sustainable fuel.

When they burn, these fuels only put backmost into nan ambiance nan c dioxide that was taken retired of it to make them successful nan first place.

A study by Professor Felix Leach astatine Oxford University, funded by F1, recovered that these fuels tin execute a simplification successful life-cycle CO2 emissions of greater than 90% compared pinch fossil fuels.

These fuels tin beryllium utilized successful almost immoderate soul combustion engine.

The FIA is introducing an assurance strategy to “check nan root of each nan components utilized by substance suppliers to nutrient nan sustainable fuels” to guarantee their credibility.

F1 president Stefano Domenicali said: “The caller sustainably fuelled hybrid powerfulness portion presents a immense opportunity for nan world automotive industry. The drop-in substance has nan imaginable to beryllium utilized by cars astir nan world and dramatically trim emissions.”