2026 car comparisons

[dren]

McLaren looks terrifyingly advanced compared to the rest. They have clearly spent a lot of time on that front wing.

Not sure I agree with that. They don't look much different than the rest in detail other than they decided to go with the outboard horizontal bit that the others omitted.

The one really (and evidently) different (not implying better or worst here) is the mercedes.

They all have their own differences. Nose mounting points, flap actuation, how many flaps actuate, etc. The Red Bull lower most element is flat where others curve or angle upwards towards the end plates. The end plates differ across the wings in how they curve as well. The Ferrari has a cut out on the top of their end plates. Some have horizontal wings on the end plates, some omitted them.

Lots of small differences but I definitely would not say the Mclaren is somehow "terrifyingly advanced" compared to the others.

[GrizzleBoy]

McLaren looks terrifyingly advanced compared to the rest. They have clearly spent a lot of time on that front wing.

Not sure I agree with that. They don't look much different than the rest in detail other than they decided to go with the outboard horizontal bit that the others omitted.

The one really (and evidently) different (not implying better or worst here) is the mercedes.

I'd say red bulls flat main plane makes it the most different.

I'm personally just waiting to see Adrian Neweys design so I can see which ine the already released cars got it right

[Cassius]

Interesting that Red Bull after pioneering the downwash + large undercut sidepods last regulations went away from it but some front running teams have stuck with it.

RedBull is always the 'gambler team'. More often than not, they fail. But sometimes, the gamble 'clicks' (like the 'many local knee/folds for local pressurization in the underfloor' from 2022 or the sharkmouth sidepod intake from 2024, or the blow exhaust diffuser from 2009/2010) and most other teams end up copying their 'bold ideas'. Not just true with the car design, true with tyre/race strategy as well. It's a maverick team philosophy. Like how they decided to make engines, knowing Honda were going to leave. It can all come crashing down, but they aren't afraid of failure.

Wouldn't call it gambling. Their internal organization, governance and processes allow for creation of innovative ideas and award risk taking.

[venkyhere]

https://ibb.co/N6BKFpLH

McLaren looks terrifyingly advanced compared to the rest. They have clearly spent a lot of time on that front wing.

Not sure I agree with that. They don't look much different than the rest in detail other than they decided to go with the outboard horizontal bit that the others omitted.

Actually the Redbull one looks like the odd one out - lowest element has no curvature, very aggressive footplate 'curl' and 'vanilla' endplates. But 'how effective' each wing is, to each teams' aero-map is something we cannot glean by eyeballing.

[dren]

McLaren looks terrifyingly advanced compared to the rest. They have clearly spent a lot of time on that front wing.

Not sure I agree with that. They don't look much different than the rest in detail other than they decided to go with the outboard horizontal bit that the others omitted.

Actually the Redbull one looks like the odd one out - lowest element has no curvature, very aggressive footplate 'curl' and 'vanilla' endplates. But 'how effective' each wing is, to each teams' aero-map is something we cannot glean by eyeballing.

It appears Red Bull are aiming to maximize the active aero. They were quite good with DRS in the past.

[AR3-GP]

I would group the sidepods like this:

Concept 1: Aston and Mclaren
Concept 2: Ferrari and Mercedes
Concept 3: Red Bull

[f1isgood]

Suspension convergence already as well unlike previous era although may be that was expected at least modulo details. Maybe the GE floors needed pull-rod

[SB15]

Suspension convergence already as well unlike previous era although may be that was expected at least modulo details. Maybe the GE floors needed pull-rod

With those massive Venturi-tunnels and dependence on aero efficiency.. I can see why Newey went with it and most teams followed suit. Mercedes (James Allison) considered doing so for the W16 but it was abandoned due to these regulations.

[GrizzleBoy]

All teams engineers probably go to sleep dreaming about suspension at this point after the nightmares they endured trying to deal with the ground effect cars.

Hopefully this stuff is easy mode (relatively spraking) now, they dont meed to spend time trying to understand voodoo magic and they can focus on the cars horizontal movement vs vertical oscillation.

[chlebekf1]

https://ibb.co/Kj893y1z

the Alpine's rear wing tilts instead of opening

[Badger]

I would group the sidepods like this:

Concept 1: Aston and Mclaren
Concept 2: Ferrari and Mercedes
Concept 3: Red Bull

https://i.postimg.cc/B667f4V5/image.png

Aston is in group 2 with Ferrari and Merc. They have the same undercut all the way back leading to the diffuser slot.

[JonoNic]

We've got to see most of the new cars now. So, which of the 2026 teams would be most susceptible to terminal performance loss if the following aerodynamic structures were compromised: the front wing assembly, the bargeboard-equivalent flow conditioners, or the floor edge devices?

For example, if a front-wing endplate is damaged or lost, preventing the active elements from deploying correctly on the straights, would that effectively end your race due to the imbalance and drag penalty? The 2026 active aero package feels like a system that works beautifully only when the car remains structurally intact, but could become disproportionately punishing if even minor components are damaged.

Are teams essentially trading robustness for peak efficiency with these new “gimmicks”?

[AR3-GP]

Why is the Alpine so bulky?

[venkyhere]

driver position relative to axles :



I think the Mercedes PU lends itself to tight packaging in the X direction and hence both Merc & McLaren are the closest of the lot to 50% position. Ferrari seems like an extreme case while Redbull is in between the two cases.

[Stu]

https://ibb.co/Kj893y1z

the Alpine's rear wing tilts instead of opening

Interesting! The Audi RW flaps look as though they pivot at the chord centre (or thereabouts), good to see some new thinking.