The FIA aims to simplify the underfloor plank on Formula 1 machinery and has set its sights on standardising the component in its regulations for 2026.
In October, floor planks became a hotly debated topic when Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both disqualified from the United States Grand Prix for exceeding the tolerated wear limit.
The sprint format in place for October’s race in Austin meant that cars entered parc ferme conditions after just one hour of practice. Hamilton and Leclerc were two of just four drivers to have their planks checked after the US Grand Prix however the seven-time champion claimed that many more teams and drivers would have been caught out had their cars also been checked.
In the interest of safety, the plank was first introduced in the mid-1990s to restrict the minimum ride height attainable. The regulations currently dictate that the block must have a thickness of 10mm with a tolerance of +/- 0.2mm.
Lower ride heights lower the centre of gravity of a car which, in turn, reduces the amount at which it may pitch and roll. Performance can also be increased as lower ride heights produce higher levels of downforce.
A lower-slung set-up doesn’t come without its risks, however, as increased downforce levels, particularly mid-corner, can result in a car bottoming out over bumps, wearing the fibreglass plank and potentially resulting in aerodynamic disruption as was the case for Lando Norris in Las Vegas.
“We do need to make sure circuits, generally speaking, avoid features which may cause that,” said the FIA’s Single Seater Director, Nikolas Tombazis.
“It’s a thin line between when it may be the responsibility of a circuit to sort out some features or detail and when the teams may just need to raise the car up more. We obviously will try to fix these areas with the circuits.
“Are the cars too low? Yes, we would rather they were riding a bit higher, but the inherent characteristic of a ground-effect car is that it tends to have more performance running low. That’s something I don’t think we can easily avoid.”
Tombazis stated that the governing body had already considered the prospect of adding the floor plank to its list of standard parts, however that proposal was rejected by incumbent teams.
“We tried to do a uniform skid [plank] in the regulations, but you have to realise that sometimes we do want to do things and then we still need to go through governance, and the teams need to vote for it,” Tombazis explained.
“Sometimes, you don’t have enough support. So, for 2026, we believe we’re going to simplify very much that area that we couldn’t simplify as much as we would have liked for the current regulations.”
