Formula 1’s planned 2026 cars are now about two seconds per lap faster as the result of regulation changes made by teams and the FIA.

Outline plans for the next generation of F1 cars were revealed ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix but, following concerns expressed about their likely performance level, work began on making potential tweaks.

Those efforts have now reached a conclusion, with the FIA’s head of single seater matters Nikolas

Tombazis saying that the new version of the regulations should lift the cars to be around just one second per lap slower than the current challengers.

“There has been an increase of performance of the car by probably about 50 points of downforce,” he said.

“This has brought the performance from what maybe was minus 40% compared to current cars, to around minus 15% in terms of downforce.

“In terms of performance, the resulting lap time of the cars is very close to current cars. All that has been done as was promised in June.”

Asked what the speed of the cars would have been if no modifications had been made to the regulations that were first published ahead of Canada, Tombazis said: “If we had made no change after June, I guess it would have been probably approximately another two seconds slower.”

F1 2026 FIA car renders

Photo by: FIA

What has changed

Outlining where the focus of the regulatory changes had been for 2026 to add downforce and lap time, Tombazis explained that they involved several key areas of the car.

“The main changes on the aerodynamics have been increasing a bit the box in which the front wing lies,” he said.

“We have also added the front wing fence and the style that used to be in previous cars.

“We’ve added some space for devices in front of the front floor, like the sideboard and the leading edge of the sideboard. We’ve increased the size of the diffuser, which starts a bit further forward and is a bit bigger.

“We’ve redesigned some of the bodywork around the front wheels, and there’s still some work ongoing that may hopefully lead to some final tweaks in the next World Council of the rear bodywork, and how that interacts with the diffuser in that area.”

The 2026 changes in more detail 

The changes made in the latest draft of the regulations include several alterations to the front wing, with a larger allowable box region for the front wing elements, and a thicker endplate.

Meanwhile, there’s the addition of a strake beneath the assembly to help direct the airflow, as was the case prior to the 2019 regulatory overhaul, when strakes were removed entirely.

A ‘leading edge device’ has also been introduced for the floor, which can have up to five sections and will clearly contribute to the performance envelope of the floor itself.

Meanwhile, the ‘floor board’ may now have three sections, rather than two, and its dimensional constraints have been adjusted accordingly.

To help reduce flexion on the floor assembly there’s now scope for more metal stays, as their number increases from two to three, whilst six floor board stays are also permitted.

The alterations, albeit not excessive, provide enough potential to increase the downforce for this new generation of cars, as they’re interconnected, with changes made from front-to-rear. 

It was an action-packed day at the United States Grand Prix, featuring both the Sprint race and qualifying. Max Verstappen delivered a dominant performance to win the Sprint, while the intense midfield battle heated up as teams fought for crucial points in the Constructors’ Championship. Lando Norris secured a sensational pole position, outpacing Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, with Ferrari showing strong form ahead of Sunday’s race. Mark Mann-Bryans and Jon Noble dive into all these key moments and more.

0:00 Lando Norris’ pole lap

1:11 Mercedes qualifying woes

3:50 Alonso vs Lawson

5:55 Sprint race recap – Can Ferrari win?

6:54 Final verdict on the bib debacle

8:29 Midfield battles

Abt Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde moved into the lead of the championship with victory in the penultimate DTM race of 2024 at Hockenheim, as Mirko Bortolotti could only salvage fifth place.

Starting from pole position, van der Linde was able to outduel Winward Mercedes driver Lucas Auer to claim his third victory of the season and overturn a 12-point deficit to Bortolotti into a two-point advantage ahead of the title decider on Sunday.

Ayanchan Guven completed the podium spots for Manthey EMA Porsche, while Auer’s team-mate Maro Engel kept his slim championship hopes alive by finishing fourth ahead of SSR Lamborghini rival Bortolotti.

At the start of the race, van der Linde pulled away cleanly from pole position, with Auer consolidating second place after securing his first front-row start in the DTM since 2022.

Bortolotti and Engel had qualified out of position in seventh and ninth respectively, but both were able to climb up the order on the opening lap, rising up to fourth and fifth behind Guven.

When the pit window opened at the 20-minute mark, Engel immediately pulled into the pitlane, with Winward sending him back out after servicing his car in just six seconds.

Bortolotti followed him on the next lap, but a sluggish 8.2s stop – down to a slow front-left tyre change – left him vulnerable to his Mercedes rival.

Mirko Bortolotti, SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracán EVO GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

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Although the Italian managed to rejoin the track in front despite being delayed, Engel already had his tyres up to temperature and muscled his way past at Turn 8, taking fourth position away from him.

At the end of the same lap, van der Linde finally peeled into the pits from the lead of the race, with Auer – who had been on his tail in the first stint – covering him next time out.

Winward’s decision to delay Auer’s pitstop initially appeared to pay off as he rejoined the track at the front, but a lap later the Abt driver was able to pass him into Turn 2 to reinstate the status quo.

The Austrian kept the pressure up on van der Linde for the remainder of the race, with the two drivers even making contact at the hairpin on lap 30.

Ultimately, van der Linde was able to do enough to fend off his Mercedes rival, taking the chequered flag by 0.508s to put himself in the best position to win the 2024 DTM title in Sunday’s finale.

Guven had a lonely race en route to third in the lead Porsche, while Engel held off Bortolotti to put himself 20 points behind van der Linde in the championship standings.

Jules Gounon, substituting for Luca Stolz at HRT Mercedes, rapidly closed in on Bortolotti in the closing stages of the races, but ultimately had to settle for sixth place on his DTM debut.

The top Schubert BMW driver on Saturday was Rene Rast in seventh, ahead of HRT driver Arjun Maini and team-mate Marco Wittmann. Nicki Thiim completed the top 10 for SSR Performance.

Emil Frey Ferrari’s Jack Aitken was the only retirement from the race, as 19 of 20 drivers made it to the finish.

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Fermin Aldeguer came out on top of a superb duel with Aron Canet to win the Moto2 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island on Sunday.

A fast-paced battle between the pair over the second half of the race reached its crescendo with two changes of lead on the last lap.

Canet (Fantic Racing) took SpeedUp’s Aldeguer at Miller, only for the latter to respond in forceful style with an outbraking move at MG. Neither rider wanted to give an inch as both almost ran off the track on the exit, but Aldeguer made the move stick.

Alonso Lopez (SpeedUp) ran with Canet and Aldeguer before dropping off the pace beyond half-distance. He was being caught for third by Senna Agius (Intact GP) when he fell with two laps remaining.

This allowed Australia’s Agius to claim a podium result at home.

Ai Ogura could only manage fourth place for MT Helmet-MSi, meaning the Japanese rider will have to wait until at least next weekend’s Thai Grand Prix to seal the world championship title that had been a mathematical possibility in Australia.

Diogo Moreira of Italtrans and Gresini Moto2’s Manuel Gonzalez – who had to serve a long lap penalty and thus fell out of the lead group early – were fifth and sixth respectively.

Barry Baltus (RW-Idrofoglia) and Tony Arbolino (VDS) came home seventh and eighth, with Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets-MSI) recovering from 16th on the starting grid to finish ninth.

Marcos Ramirez rounded out the top 10 for American Racing Team.

Moto2 Australian GP – Race results:

Alonso’s impressive run in Moto3 continues

David Alonso, CFMOTO Aspar Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Earlier, David Alonso made a trademark late break from a multi-bike battle for the lead to score a comfortable win in the Australian Grand Prix Moto3 race.

The Aspar rider, who sealed the world championship title at the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago, was almost three seconds to the good after splitting from the 15-rider pack with three laps remaining.

That left David Munoz (BOE Motorsports), Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and Daniel Holgado (Tech3) to fight it out over second place, with Stefano Nepa (Levelup-MTA) joining that dice over the course of the final lap.

This squabble was settled in Holgado’s favour on the run to the line, with Fernandez completing the podium ahead of Nepa and Munoz.

With his rivals Collin Veijer (Intact GP) and Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets-MSi) both falling after Veijer lost control on lap 12, second place was an ideal result for Holgado in his bid for second place in the championship.

As Veijer and Ortola failed to score, Holgado emerged in a secure second place on the points table, 23 points ahead of Veijer and 41 clear of Ortola.

Ryusei Yamanaka (Mti Helmets-MSi) led the group disputing sixth place over the line. His Japanese countryman Taiyo Furosata (Honda Team Asia) followed him home.

Also finishing within a second of Furosata were Luca Lunetta (SIC58), Jose Antonio Rueda (Ajo) and Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing).

Moto3 Australian GP – Race results:

1	D. Alonso CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team	80		CF MOTO	21			165.6		25
2	D. Holgado Red Bull GASGAS Tech3	96		GASGAS	21		2.936	165.4		20
3	A. Fernandez Leopard Racing	31		Honda	21		0.003	165.4		16
4	S. Nepa LEVELUP – MTA	82		KTM	21		0.018	165.4		13
5	D. Munoz BOE Motorsports	64		KTM	21		0.015	165.4		11
6	R. Yamanaka MT Helmets – MSI	6		KTM	21		0.405	165.4		10
7	T. Furusato Honda Team Asia	72		Honda	21		0.026	165.4		9
8	L. Lunetta SIC58 Squadra Corse	58		Honda	21		0.483	165.3		8
9	J. Antonio Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Advertisement	99		KTM	21		0.022	165.3		7
10	Á. Piqueras Leopard Racing	36		Honda	21		0.035	165.3		6
11	J. Kelso BOE Motorsports	66		KTM	21		0.506	165.3		5
12	R. Rossi CIP	54		KTM	21		0.025	165.3		4
13	J. Roulstone Red Bull GASGAS Tech3	12		GASGAS	21		0.004	165.3		3
14	M. Bertelle Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team	18		Honda	21		0.586	165.2		2
15	T. Suzuki Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP	24		Husqvarna	21		7.382	164.6		1
16	J. Esteban CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team	78		CF MOTO	21		18.132	163.2
17	X. Zurutuza Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	85		KTM	21		0.033	163.2
18	C. Veijer Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP	95		Husqvarna	21		8.699	162.5
19	E. O’Shea FleetSafe Honda – MLav Racing Advertisement	8		Honda	21		0.615	162.4
20	T. Buasri Honda Team Asia	5		Honda	21		10.970	161.6
21	N. Dettwiler CIP	55		KTM	21		0.012	161.6
22	S. Ogden FleetSafe Honda – MLav Racing	19		Honda	20		1 Lap	154.8
dnf	I. Ortola MT Helmets – MSI	48		KTM	11		9 Laps	165.1	Retirement
dnf	D. Almansa Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team	22		Honda	11		2’59.806	141.3	Retirement
dnf	N. Fabio LEVELUP – MTA Advertisement	10		KTM	6		5 Laps	163.5	Accident
dnf	F. Farioli SIC58 Squadra Corse	7		Honda	3		3 Laps	161.6	Accident