How new rules will shake up Formula 1 in 2026, and what could still change

By JAMES ELLINGWORTH AP Sports Writer Next year Formula will see one of its biggest changes in a generation Sweeping new regulations will change how cars look sound and run The goal is to make them more agile competitive safer and more sustainable governing body FIA says Certain teams all but abandoned their car designs early this year in search of the biggest boost they could get in The Associated Press spoke with Nikolas Tombazis who is overseeing the transition to the new rules as the director for single-seater racing series at the FIA to explain how the changes will affect the action on track and what could still change Ferrari unit principal Frederic Vasseur is on the pit wall before the first free practice ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza racetrack in Monza Italy Friday Sept AP Photo Luca Bruno Race marshals remove the car of Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll of Canada after a crash during the second practice for the Formula One Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort Netherlands Friday Aug AP Photo Patrick Post FILE Single Seater Technical Director for the FIA Nikolas Tombazis addresses a media conference ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa Belgium Saturday Aug AP Photo Olivier Matthys File FILE Drivers and cars wait under tents during a rain delay at the Formula One Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack in Spa Belgium Sunday Aug AP Photo Francisco Seco File Show Caption of Ferrari association principal Frederic Vasseur is on the pit wall before the first free practice ahead of the Italian Grand Prix at the Monza racetrack in Monza Italy Friday Sept AP Photo Luca Bruno Expand Bigger gaps feasible Teams are guarding their enhancement evidence but what has become populace suggests the slowest cars could be way off the pace Tire manufacturer Pirelli has proven to The AP that estimated lap times it has received from teams vary by as much as four seconds a relative eternity in F Tombazis acknowledges new engine manufacturers may need extra enhancement time to catch up on years of know-how from the likes of Mercedes F has a rule which could in theory rule cars out if their qualifying times aren t within of the fastest car So could cars be deemed too slow to race I think is pretty unlikely in my view Tombazis revealed Next year we have a wider level of uncertainty in performances it s absolutely true We have newcomers We have new regulations Two of those things combined can mean that there could be bigger gaps in a few places The difference to could be stark Despite McLaren s dominance so far this season six different teams have finished on the podium and less than a second has separated the entire field in particular qualifying sessions Solving a scare story F s strict testing rules mean these cars aren t on track they re only in simulations made by the teams Sometimes that can throw up alarming results Tombazis explained When there s a scare story of OK I drove the car and it did XYZ in of the cases of that XYZ that maybe has worried the driver or a gang we then sit down and resolve he revealed One key area where rules could still adapt is how much work the drivers have to do The new rules emphasis on electric power means judging when and how to deploy that power could be a key skill It s not yet clear how much of that will be automated Tombazis revealed the extra work of managing a car is already a key skill and forms a big part of the gang radio chat that is so popular with fans but what we don t want to do is create a situation where it goes to the other extreme where the driving becomes like a chess meeting where it s just a matter of resource management and potential deployment Avoiding eternal misery The new rules keep the turbo hybrid engine design first introduced in but with more emphasis on electrical power Multiple in F expect Mercedes whose engines have powered teams to nine constructors title since will be the manufacturer to beat Struggling manufacturers can get exemptions allowing them to spend above the cost cap to develop upgrades for engines which are deemed too uncompetitive or unreliable The FIA will check every six races to see who is eligible for the boost Related Articles Sean Payton takes blame for late FG penalty says Broncos shouldn t have tried to block -yarder Broncos stock assessment Bo Nix s accuracy back on track but where s Evan Engram Parker Gabriel s thoughts after the Broncos Week loss to Colts How Broncos WR Troy Franklin started stopping like a Tesla en track to Week breakout Renck Blaming refs for Broncos loss to Colts is just plain dumb This one s on Denver The cost cap is essential for the financial sustainability of the sport so I would obviously defend that to death Tombazis announced But on the other hand it creates a challenge that if you are behind in performance in a considerable manner and you cannot outspend to recover the performance you may be condemned to eternal misery by being eternally behind It won t be an instant fix Tombazis emphasized It just gives the manufacturer a chance to research a remedy We re not adding any artificial performance to any car or artificial ballast on any car or anything like that he reported This is absolutely not something that will ever happen in Formula Racing in the rain Full wet tires might be the least useful item in the whole F paddock When it s wet enough to use them the tails of spray coming from the cars usually mean visibility is too poor to race That s partly because of the aerodynamic floors on the current cars So the next generation could potentially mean more wet racing I would be lying if I revealed that we had complete confidence about how the cars will perform in the rain in terms of spray and visibility Tombazis revealed adding the FIA wants to stop a repeat of the Belgian Grand Prix when no green-flag racing was workable When spectators pay a lot of money to spend the whole weekend sitting in attendance to watch a race and then eventually they have to go home after very limited racing that is absolutely terrible he declared There s a number of projects which are being evaluated in order to minimize the chance of that ever happening again and I think there are selected promising trends AP auto racing https apnews com hub auto-racing