Formula 1 Chief Technical Officer Pat Symonds has insisted the series wants to reduce the downforce on the cars for the forthcoming technical regulations in 2026.
The power unit regulations for 2026 are already set in stone.
The 1.6 litre V6 turbo internal combustion engine (ICE) is set to run on 100% sustainable fuel and there will be an increased focus on hybridisation.
Plans for increased electrical power output via the MGU-K system will see an approximate 50/50 power split between ICE and electrical components and Symonds told F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast that “We’re going to be over 1,000 horsepower with the ’26 car, [we] want more of it coming from the electric motor.”
Symonds is also keen to reduce downforce on the next generation of F1’s single-seaters, along with a weight and size reduction.
“We do want to reduce the downforce on the car,” he said.
“Part of the reason why the cars are so heavy is because they’re having to deal with so much load, so they’ll slide a little bit more.”
Critics blame F1’s current weight and size of the cars for producing poor racing, making overtaking difficult to encourage.
The minimum weight of the current cars is just shy of 800kg, up from 620kg when refuelling was prohibited in 2010 and up from 690kg in 2014 when hybrid power units were first introduced.
Furthermore, cars are currently at an approximate length of 5.63m and about 2m wide.
That’s approximately a metre longer than the last refuelling F1 cars of 2009 and 0.6m longer than the early iteration of hybrid F1 cars between 2014 and ’16.
FIA Single Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis stated last year that the target is a 50kg weight reduction and his hopes that “it will be possible to see smaller single-seater cars: shorter and narrower.”
In theory, smaller lighter cars will improve overtaking opportunities, but Symonds also believes that less aero and more power will put greater “emphasis” on the drivers’ ability.
Some believe that the current generation of high downforce ground effect F1 cars are too easy to drive, with former team owner Eddie Jordan stating on the Formula for Success podcast that F2 star Ollie Bearman’s stunning, but albeit impromptu F1 debut was proof of this.
“It says to me that the cars are too easy to drive compared to what they used to be like,” Jordan said.
“That’s indicative to a driver like this, with the minimal of testing, at the last minute, being told put on a set of overalls and do a race on a track like Saudi.”
Symonds’ view is that the next generation of cars will be harder to drive and make the drivers the stars of the show.
“That’s an important thing,” he said.
“It’s the drivers who are the heroes, they’re the supermen that we want to promote.
“So I think things are going in the right direction there.”
