Team bosses James Vowles and Andrea Stella welcome the changes to the Formula One regulations for 2026: “We now have more freedom”
The latest changes to the technical regulations of Formula 1 for 2026 will give teams more freedom to explore different design concepts, says Williams CEO James Vowles. The rules for the new Formula 1 cars for 2026 have recently been revised after concerns were raised that the new generation could be too slow.
The new cars, which will come with revised engine regulations and greater use of electrical power, will generate significantly less drag and swirling air to improve racing, but the latest version of the rules has increased the amount of downforce to bring cornering speeds closer to current levels.
The FIA has relaxed restrictions on the front wing and front part of the underfloor, with the possibility of adding bargeboards, and the size of the diffuser has been increased compared to the draft submitted to the teams in June, which received mixed reviews.
Vowles: There will now be several “different concepts”
The changes were welcomed by the teams, not only for the boost to performance they will provide, but also because the designers now have more freedom to develop different concepts. That could lead to cars that look visibly different compared to the current generation of ground-effect machines, where the teams soon settled on very similar concepts.
“We now have more freedoms where you can see the direction we are going,” says Vowles. ”So there are more flow-directing devices that lead to more downforce, but also differences between the teams. It’s also very positive that there are still some small areas where the diffuser can be improved.”
“It’s great to see the teams in Formula One working hand in hand to improve this, because any change of this kind has consequences. I think what we will see now is that not all teams will work with the same millimeters, but that there will be different concepts. Personally, I think this is good for the sport.”
Vowles’ McLaren colleague Andre Stella also believes that the greater freedom for engineers will lead to a wider range of designs: “With the recent release of the vehicle geometry, especially from an aerodynamic point of view, two things have essentially been achieved,” he explains. “One is a much higher level of output and the second is more freedom. We welcome both.”
“We welcome more freedom. I think this will give the teams the opportunity to use their knowledge and methods. The knowledge that has been accumulated over the years is one way to stand out from the competition, even if there are different rules.”
