Cars that are always too heavy and bulky
Yesterday F1 presented the 2026 regulations or at least a first draft with concepts that cannot be distorted, a regulation that seems to have surprised some teams. The header Motorsport Magazine hosted a long speech by Adrian Newey in which the designer who has just freed himself from Red Bull – Ferrari is waiting for him at the end of the first quarter of 2025 – also commented on the direction taken by F1 with the 2026 regulations, a regulation with several problems given by limits that are difficult to circumvent.
“We know the broad principles of what the FIA is trying to achieve, which is the desire to achieve parity between the thermal and thermal components of the engine. As to whether this is a good direction or not, It’s probably best if I don’t comment – Newey’s words – there is a desire to make cars a little lighter, but the reality is that you can’t do much with such a heavy power unit. There is also the goal of making cars more efficient from an aerodynamic point of view, a goal that I fully agree with and support. Unfortunately in motorsports we suffer from the same problem as the industry: we end up working blocked by overly prescriptive rules. Instead of zero tailpipe emissions, we should simply set ourselves the goal of making cars less harmful to the planet. If we insist on zero emissions from the exhaust pipe, they remain on the table hydrogen or batteries, none of which currently reach the performance levels we expect for the grand prix format. If we aimed for net zero, it would open up many possibilities. Biofuels are an interesting and growing concept. It is unclear whether they will ever be able to be fully competitive on pricing. But as long as we insist on zero exhaust, these things cannot be done.”
“The FIA seems to be heavily influenced by one or two manufacturersin the hope of pleasing them, but also of attracting others – added Newey – I suppose that with the arrival of Audi for 2026 there has been a partial success in this sense, but I’m not sure that the overall compromise reached is worth it. The reality is that manufacturers come and go, with the exception of Ferrari. It’s the teams that are the heart of the business and then, of course, the big heart is the audience. It is therefore essential to put on a good show and, as part of this, variety is proven to be well rewarded. If you look at IndyCar, with a number of manufacturers involved up until the 1990s, it was very popular and even starting to rival F1. It slipped into a single-brand store and its popularity waned“.
