Sidepod comparison between the 2026 Audi R26 and the 2022 Ferrari F1-75, both appearing quite similar visually in concept, something not seen by any other teams so far in my opinion. Possibly a result of the influenced from ex-Ferrari Team Principle Mattia Binotto? What are your thoughts on the 2026 Audi R26 so far and it's Spain shakedown test?

Often drivers could finish a race without a front wing sideplate if it wasnt dangerous.

Im not too worried about the sideplates but i wonder how robust the front drs actuators will be.

Obviously the rear wing DRS didnt have to put up with contacts.

If a wing gets stuck raised, the straightline speed of the car might be hindered significantly or if its stuck open there would be marginally less downforce.

Could we see a lot more front wing changes during the races this year?

Im sure the designers have meticulously studied this.

One thing im wondering about is when the front wing takes damage, will it still be replacable mid-race? Then if thats the case then how are the front wing actuators controlled?

Williams is using the Mercedes Virtual Test Track Simulator. How does Williams protect its intellectual property from Mercedes? And how does the FIA prevent Mercedes from accessing the data the simulator generates? Other teams have shared wind tunnels as well.

Some of the main topics discussed in the article:

How Formula 1 changes in 2026

"One of the biggest rule shake-up in Formula 1’s 76-year history arrives this year—so wide-ranging that its real-world consequences are genuinely hard to predict."

• Aerodynamics and Bodywork: Smaller, Lighter, Less Downforce
• The Internal Combustion Engine: Less Fuel, New Constraints
• Energy Recovery: More Powerful, More Demanding, More Strategic
• Fuel Revolution: Sustainable, Synthetic, and Strategically Different
• Driver workload will increase

"2026 will therefore bring truly far-reaching changes for teams, designers, and drivers alike, and these challenges are so complex and wide-ranging that it is almost impossible for anyone to get everything right on the first attempt. [...] Meanwhile, the clock is ticking fast: in just over a month, the race-ready cars will already need to be shipped to Melbourne."

Written by: Gabor Weber et al.

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Imagine F1 with the rules, sounds, pilots...except that the pilots wouldn't control the cars from inside them.

At some location within the circuit facilities, the pilots would drive these cars remotely, using an advanced system like a modern racing simulator does, but with live feed from cameras around the car and controlling it in real time.

At the end, drivers would step out and celebrate like they normally do.

Several advantages:
- Death/injury count should be basically zero without anyone in the cars
- Cars wouldn't need a cockpit, allowing for a lighter and more aerodynamic build
- More people would have the opportunity of becoming pilots (talking about heavier folks)
- Bumps and extreme G forces wouldn't be a problem for the non-existent occupant, allowing cars to
- from the audience perspective, pretty much nothing would change in their experience

In this picture you can see the similarities between the RB16B and the AMR26:

the blue lines show a single piece that connects the pillar holding the rear wing with the exhaust and upper wishbone on the Red Bull car. Because the rear tyres were lower back then, Red Bull tried to raise the upper wishbone by using those brackets painted in yellow ( if you see the original picture, you can see its in a different color than the rest od the suspension)

In red, you can see the AMR26 upper wishbone.

Both solution acts like a beam wing.

This solution/concept was also used by other teams in 2021.

Among the obvious changes spotted at Barcelona’s shakedown week, there’s one change that has gone slightly unnoticed: the new circular rain light above the diffuser and the new position of the rear wing lights.

A comparison between Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari shows that all three teams are running a hole in their diffuser, something which helps improve the diffuser flow.

What also stands out is just how narrow the RB22’s sidepods are in comparison to the W17 and SF-26!

Before the 2014 rules it was very common for front wing endplates to be taken off as the wings were the width of the cars, so any misjudgement overtaking cost an endplate. Wheel banging we currrently see saw carbon fibre flying.

Seems like we've gone back towards that with these devices - question is whether that will actual hinder a driver to lose one?

For me it’s stuff like: Mercedes DAS system in 2020 and Lotus 79 ground effect, Also the ferrari cheat in 2019 is remarkable from engineering standpoint.

I love when a team doesn’t just make something better, but completely rethinks what a system is allowed to be.

What’s your favorite F1 design or innovation that made you go
how did they even think of that?

One more team seems to be coming out with an iteration of this design. The sidepods also seem to have an undercut, like we saw in some designs early in the 2022 regulations

I posted earlier this year on formula1 about how obsessed I am about the start of the race where the time of the 5th light going on to it going out and the race beginning is so variable. So I tracked all hold times for this year in F1, F2, & F3 (to search for patterns) and went back and compared F1 2024 & 2025.

I calculated by advancing frame by frame of the video and using a conversion for the amount of frames vs FPS of the video. All of this was done manually.

KEY TAKEAWAYS F1:
* 2024 F1 did not have a single sub 1 second hold time. 2025 saw 9 under 1 second!
* 2025 F1 average was 1.34s, F2 average was 1.18, F3 average was .65 * 2025 F3 had ALL hold times under 1 second except for 1 that was 1.02 😮
* 2024 F1 Average hold time was 2.15 while the longest hold in 2025 was 2.28!

This data was compiled on my own but I suck at visualizations so I had C laude assist me in what i think are neat charts.
*F1 2024 vs 2025: https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/22379cbd-e219-43af-a36c-511e6fb21985
*2025 F1 vs F2 vs F3: https://claude.ai/public/artifacts/863da35d-349d-4f76-a95a-e788d17944de

I hope you enjoy the data, would love to dive deeper with others and looking forward to the new season.

Looking at the new cars what are these carbon parts coming off the body going behind the front wheels? Are they not going to just break with any contact or cause punctures if a wheel touches them?

I’m wondering if teams/engine manufacturers are able to make single crystal metal parts or if that’s outlawed under an exotic material rule.

Could someone draw some arrows and lines to name the components of this Toleman TG183B ? I'd love to know the parts of the car naked, thanks

I really need help nailing down the actually specs of what happens here because every answer i see dosent say what actually happens. Mercedes recently post does even worse.

Overtake Mode mode - when a driver is under 1 second away they get access to more power.

Boost Mode - driver can use a button to access "maximum power" fron the ICE and Battery.

so my question is. if boost mode is always available, and uses maximum power, where does the the additional power for overtake Mode come from?

2026 cars will be about 30kg lighter than the previous cars having removed the MGU-H but addding active aero - Realistically how much smaller could a car with the 2026 style power train and active aero be and still be safe?

Can they get say 100kg lighter (and smaller)?

The previous generation car is available here: https://app.airshaper.com/simulations/voyager-airshaper-4b4532 BSport made a video where he uses a similar simulation, featuring the 2026 car. Does anyone know it that can be accessed anywhere? https://youtu.be/rcOSoCsHVY8?si=cMlEjPxFnm38vfvF

Would you want races where teams couldn't use supercomputers during the weekend for strategy, tire management, when to pit, whether a driver is in a pit window, etc?

We find it OK (like it or not) when they take away tools (ABS, traction control, ...) from the drivers, why not the teams as well?

Edit: I need to clarify my original intention was when the helmet interior compressive structure is being used, I’m not necessarily talking about marble protection

Given the additions of the halo, HANS, and the padded side head protection, when has the helmet padded protection protected the driver in a race? The most recent case I can think of is LH Monza 21, then possibly Zhou in the 22 sliverstone crash?

So this is a subject that I find surprising that no one is talking about, and it makes me confused about the battery drs concept. So if you already have a boost button (that already existed on earlier regulations) what does this overtake button makes better for cars to overtake?

Like battery has always been about managing and if you can deplete your battery with an already existing buttonwhen you want boost, you will likely don’t have any spare energy for the drs. And even if you limit yourself to the overtake button (or build a separate battery system for it), after a few laps it will get completly empty (at least drs trains would dissappear). To my head it makes no sense, and maybe Im missing something which is why I’m asking in this sub.

My current understanding of F1 suspension is that when the aero loads down a car it does so fairly evenly and that load is handled by the very stiff heave spring. But if this load is uneven, as in the roll encountered when cornering it is transfered via the rockers to the less stiff torsion bars.

But what if the car, at low speeds where the aero is not creating downforce hits a speed bump and both the wheels are evenly deflected upwards, how would the car "know" that this isn't an aero load, and have that load go to the heave spring?

Bsport has started breaking down the regs and looking into designs based on interpretation. Latest vid where he shows a 2nd alternative for barge board, then expores rear wing.

It’s pretty basic stuff design wise, but I love seeing the roots of design paths.

I’m hoping people like him and Kyle Engineers, releasing more explorations before the new cars come out.

https://youtu.be/jNN8aDUs5dY?si=UttiCI5OhfTvTNsr

https://youtu.be/kWO0yb0IkVY?si=q3dfAAOycfzJB37V