Long-time Formula 1 designer Gary Anderson explains why the FIA should have only made a few adjustments to the regulations for the 2026 season
Not everyone in the Formula 1 paddock is happy about the fact that there will be completely new regulations in the premier class next year. Carlos Sainz, among others, has already been critical of the plans at the end of 2024.
“I have a feeling that for the first time in a very, very long time, Formula 1 is creating a level playing field for all teams and all drivers,” said the Spaniard, who fears that the field could be pulled apart again in 2026.
Gary Anderson, who was Formula One’s designer for many years, sees it in a similar way. In an article for The Race, he recalls: “In 2024, and hopefully also in 2025, we had close races and different winners.”
In 2024, a total of seven different drivers won at least one Grand Prix. The last time there was more variety at the top of Formula 1 was in 2012, when there were as many as eight different race winners.
“So why not just keep the same rules but reduce the size of the cars a little, say by five to ten percent across the board?” says Anderson, who designed cars for Jordan and Jaguar in Formula 1, among others.
Anderson warns: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater”
While the field in the premier class is currently fairly even, Anderson believes the racing could be better. Therefore, he would basically keep the current rules, but make the cars smaller and therefore lighter.
“This would effectively make the tracks wider,” he explains, adding: ‘On top of that, there would be a weight reduction of about five percent, so from 798 kilograms to about 760, which isn’t much, but it would be a step in the right direction and is feasible.’
“All ten teams should be within two percent in 2025, which is two seconds over a 100-second lap,” he calculates, emphasizing, ”You can’t really ask for much more than that. But instead, the FIA seems determined to throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
Instead of merely adjusting the regulations in some details, he also fears that completely new rules will lead to greater gaps again. “That also means huge expenses for the teams while they try to catch up with each other. That’s just not necessary,” Anderson says.
Despite all the criticism, however, nothing will change because, since January 1, 2025, Formula One teams have been officially allowed to work on the new cars for 2026 in the wind tunnel.
