Automatic wings…possible changes in Formula 1 cars for the 2026 season

The Formula 1 World Championship teams are working with the FIA ​​technical team, led by Technical Director Nicholas Tombazis, to develop the new cars for 2026, and are witnessing radical changes, especially in terms of the exterior structure, which is expected to be shorter, lighter and less wide, in addition to Make the moving wings work automatically.
Although the World Motor Sports Council approved the regulations last December, the laws are still temporary, and it is expected that they will undergo more fundamental changes, aimed at abandoning ground effects in favor of more flexible and maneuverable cars, in changes that affect, in part, The front and rear wings, including the “DRS” system, through which drivers currently open the rear wing by pressing a button on the steering wheel for specific periods and according to specific areas on the track, especially fast and straight lines, in order to reduce the drag system. It facilitates the passage of air and gives the car more speed and thus the ability to overtake the car in front of it.
The British Motor Sport website indicated that the championship teams have already begun intensive work on designing more flexible cars, which will be introduced with the new laws that will come into effect next year.
The British website explained that the International Automobile Federation (FIA) allowed the championship teams to test their aerodynamic designs for the 2026 season, and to limit them to the wind tunnel based on the new laws, in addition to developing the cars that will compete in the new 2025 season.
The changes also affected the power units, which now depend on 50% of clean electrical energy, compared to 50% of the energy extracted from combustion fuel engines, in engines with a total capacity of up to 1,000 horsepower.
Moto Sport confirmed that the biggest challenge lies in how to distribute the total energy evenly over the course of a single lap, amid speculation of potential problems in charging the energy reserves, especially on fast circuits such as the Italian Monza.
The site highlighted that reducing “traction rates” due to new streamlined designs makes cars more efficient, but the biggest challenge remains in finding a balance in terms of downforce and improving the stability of cars in fast turns.