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Majority of teams push for a rule change to not allow aero development for the 2026 cars before Jan 2025.
Expect a lot of carry-over parts from 2024 to 2025 & very little development during the 2025 season due to budget cap restraints.
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Translation:
Development plan for 2026 car
In order to prevent some teams from pushing too early onto the 2026 regulations, the start of development is to be artificially pushed backwards. This has an impact on work in the 2025 season.
One has the feeling that the last rule revolution has only just begun. The ground-effect cars introduced in 2022 are still in their infancy in terms of development. The big lead of Red Bull shows that not all engineers have decoded the secrets of the current generation of racing cars. But although many teams are still struggling with the current technology, the next big reform is already around the corner.
In the 2026 season, Formula 1 will start its major sustainability initiative. New cars are launched, which draw their performance 50 percent out of electric power. The rest comes from a combustion that runs with CO2-neutral biofuel. To reduce the energy required, the cars are to become smaller and lighter and not offer so much drag. Experts expect the downforce to fall by 30 percent.
"Then the cards are completely reshuffled. Everything that was before does not count anymore. Everyone starts with a blank sheet of paper," says Mercedes Technical Director James Allison, already looking ahead. The discussions and plans were not yet cast into finished regulations. So the engineers do not know exactly what they expect. And yet the reform is already having an impact on its current work.
Cars 2024 and 2025 related
"In order to have the necessary firepower for the 2026 development in times of the budget lid, the 2025 model will probably not become a completely new construction," explains Allison. "Many parts probably need to be taken over from 2024. The next two cars are therefore likely to be closely related. The development work we are now carrying out is therefore doubly important to be well positioned for the next two seasons."
To benefit twice, the teams are now plugging in all existing resources into the development of 2024 cars. In many places, two seasons were ridden with the same monocoques or only slightly adapted. Now a new chassis is being built almost everywhere, which in many cases is also combined with a completely revised gearbox. This is primarily intended to create aerodynamic freedoms under the car.
In the current season, many engineers had noticed that they were limited in the rear of the car by the position of the shift box and in the front area by the crash structures sideways on the cockpit. This should not happen again. "We try to be as flexible as possible when building the chassis," reveals Aston-Martin Head of Technology Mike Krack. "We are definitely planning in the back of their heads for 2024 as if we did 2025."
Aero development starts only in 2025
The development timetable until the presentation of the 2026 cars must be carefully considered. If you want to ride directly at the front with the next model generation, you cannot start working too late. At Sauber in Hinwil, particular attention was paid to 2026. With the new cars, the new car is also coming as an Audi factory team. Project manager Andreas Seidl already indicated at request that there is hardly any further development on the old car in the season before the change of regulation.
Because the budget cap resources are limited, the number of upgrades to the 2025 car is not only allowed to be limited in Sauber. The technology fans have to prepare for a hard season. After all, it seems like this today that even more time may be sacrificed for the 2026 cars. A change of rule is to prevent some teams from getting fully involved in the development as early as 2024 and then set an early start.
In recent weeks, the technical directors have discussed in their meetings of the Technical Working Group (TAC) that the 2026 aerodynamic development in the wind tunnel and in CFD simulations must not start before January 2025. There is obviously a majority for this solution, but they have to be confirmed again in the next meeting. The F1 Commission and the FIA World Council must then also nod the thing. However, this should only be a formality.
FIA has set a limit of max 18 laps for new tyre sets in the race today. That means 3 pit stops will be mandatory for each driver.
If a driver goes over the limit he will be black flagged.
The 2026 cars have to use 30 kgs of fuel only to generate electric power, according to the latest calculations. Wheelbase set to be shortened by 30 cm
The 2026 cars have to use 30 kgs of fuel only to generate electric power, according to the latest calculations. Wheelbase set to be shortened by 30 cm, new gearbox with only 6 instead of 8 gears. More about the 2026 regs in our AMuS story (in German): https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/f1-reglement-2026-details-motor-technik-radstand-getriebe/
The FIA is expected to approve Andrettis F1 application. FOM & F1 teams are still suspected to be against new entries.
We've got more info about the developing power struggle and the 4 applicants trying to join the grid.
Article Link: https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-1/andretti-f1-einstieg-machtkampf-fia-fom/
Translation:
Formula 1 has become an attractive stage. Anyone who invests half a billion dollars today to enter the premier class is worth 800 million in no time at all. But to do so, he first has to get a ticket into the exclusive circle. The sporting regulations hold seats for twelve teams with 24 cars.
Four teams applied to join in February. After a formal review of the questionnaires, the FIA took a closer look at the four candidates and examined whether they would be technically, personnel-wise and financially capable of handling a Formula One project at all.
Officially, the four applicants have not been named to date. In the paddock, it is rumored that in addition to the two well-known names Andretti Autosport and Hitech Grand Prix, a project called "Lucky Sun" run by a wealthy Hong Kong Chinese and Rodin Motorsport from New Zealand have also submitted their applications. Behind Rodin is Australian billionaire David Dicker, who made his fortune selling computer hardware and software.
Rejection by the teams
The FIA's review process is due to be completed by the end of July, but word is already leaking out that Andretti and Hitech GP could get the green light. This means the ball is in Formula 1's court, and Liberty can theoretically raise objections to the applications. Formula 1 headquarters is deliberately keeping a low profile and prefers to let the teams speak for themselves. And with the exception of Alpine, they tend to signal rejection.
Alpine supports the application from new contenders because the French racing team would be the first port of call for engines and a chassis partnership. In fact, all four candidates have already approached Alpine. It is clear to all of them that the only way to enter Formula 1 is with the Haas-Ferrari model. For Alpine, that would be a welcome source of income.
The other teams are also in it for the money, even if they don't make that clear. The $200 million that every newcomer has to put on the table to compensate the established teams is not enough for the establishment. They estimate the compensation to be closer to $600 million. They'd also like to have a say in the admissions process for new teams. At the moment, they don't have veto power.
No added value for Formula 1
But both can only be anchored in the next Concorde Agreement from 2026. And that is still in its infancy. The teams formulate their rejection stoically with the argument that any newcomer must increase the added value of the series. But what exactly the added value is, they don't say.
They would probably accept a car manufacturer like General Motors as an independent team, but even such a heavyweight would be better advised to buy into an existing team rather than start something from scratch.
Ferrari team boss Frédéric Vasseur simply says: "The nationality of the team should not play a role. It can't be a ticket just because someone comes from the United States. We already have an American team in Haas. The popularity of Formula One is measured more by the nationality of the drivers than the teams anyway."
Colleague Toto Wolff reminds us that the franchise systems of American sports are a closed circle. Where new clubs are admitted, all shareholders are likely to have a say, including the long-established teams. Under this condition, expansion makes sense because everyone is included.
Meanwhile, the protectionism extends so far that teams cite operational reasons against expanding the field. "Most circuits don't even have room for 11 garages in the pit lane." Or, "In qualifying sessions, we trip over ourselves at some tracks because there's so much traffic on the track. That's a safety hazard."
Who's the boss in the ring?
If the FIA now certifies the F1 suitability of one or two applicants, this could result in a power struggle between the FIA and F1 management. Perhaps the federation even wants this to happen. FIA President Mohammed Bin Sulayem could want to use Andretti as an example to show who is the real boss in the house. He is apparently increasingly bothered by the fact that the public perception is different. For most, Stefano Domenicali is the boss.
Formula 1 is celebrated for sold-out races, full box offices and the boom in the premier class. The FIA takes a beating for incomprehensible regulations, too many penalties and overly long decision-making processes. This apparently fuels the president's desire to show the flag on an issue where he believes the majority of fans are on his side.
Hitech GP is likely to be jumped over on the federation's side and shown to be willing to negotiate. Formula 1 is concerned that the old owner Dmitry Mazepin may still be behind the Kazakh backers. If there is even the slightest suspicion that Russian money might be involved, the FIA would also have to pull the plug.
Andretti is a hot potato
Andretti, on the other hand, is a hot potato for Formula 1. Especially since Andretti can also call on General Motors as a partner. Very good reasons will have to be found to reject such an emotionally charged project. It could easily backfire, because Andretti and General Motors are big names in the U.S. and you don't just throw the door in their face.
It is possible that Michael Andretti's plan will provide Formula 1 with the necessary arguments. One hears that he wants to base the majority of the team in the U.S. and is reportedly eyeing an entry as early as 2025. The result would be that Andretti, as a new team, would have to build two cars under completely different regulations within two years.
Formula 1 can veto the new teams, but it cannot block them. The final say on licensing rests with the FIA. But even if Andretti gets a license, he still hasn't won. He would then be allowed to race, but he would not yet be part of the Concorde Agreement and thus not entitled to collect starting and prize money. For that, he needs Liberty's approval.