PlatinumZealot wrote: ↑11 Jan 2026, 00:59
vorticism wrote: ↑10 Jan 2026, 02:32
vorticism wrote: ↑30 Dec 2025, 01:17
Some guesses at what we’ll see in a couple of months:
...
Rear pushrod. The diffuser is not as tall but the onset of the diffuser remains in approximately the same location as the 2022 formula. It is perhaps better to not risk impinging upon it with pullrod mechanisms, although the higher CoG of a pushrod assembly could conflict with the use of rake.
Confirmed on Audi's car:
https://i.postimg.cc/KzjJWjmY/k-TEp-Xh8-(1)-4.jpg
Newey's modern era pull-rod also had the same concerns with impinging on the floor and the double diffuser. He somehow made it all fit inside the foot-print of the gearbox to nullify that issue. The reason why ground effect era moved the cars away from the pull-rod rear was perhaps the size of the tunnels but I think critically, the larger more complex suspension internals that were required. We saw that RedBull's pushrod in 2022 had complex, big parts to handle the loads and keep the ground effect floor in the narrow working range. For 2026, if the floor is not too sensitive I can see teams migrating towards a softer ride and more compact suspensions. Pull rod rear could become popular again. If it doesn't then it means the teams likely uncovered very strong benefits for the push-rod through lessons learnt in the Ground effect era.
I agree that it would be easier to package bulkier suspension internals on the top of the bellhousing rather than inside it. For the ’22 cars, I say the other deciding factors were:
--permissible mass shift upward given by lower COG due to little to no rake being used (high rake cars across ’19-’21 had their reference planes raised ~100mm at the rear axle at low speed)
--optimal tunnel shapes
--ease of service
I don’t have an accurate CAD file of the relevent 2026 regs for the diffuser so it is hard for me to say with certainty what the limits are in terms of optimizing the shape of the diffuser ramps. The plank is now narrower which to me suggests that the lower extremities of the gearbox area can be waisted down to maximize diffuser voliume, and if so, this will limit pullrod design options.. Time will tell.
I had to refresh my memory about the double diffusers. Red Bull Racing were one of the six teams who protested them at the start of 2009. They even more than the other complainants had built their car not to accommodate tunnels but with a flat floor in mind, with their pullrod rear suspension--unique in its highly forward displacement which ultimately became the standard for all cars of the following twelve years. The goal there imo was to optimize COG and internal airflow as the RB5 was also the first car with the now familiar cannon exit. Still, RBR were able to implement the DDF concept in 2009 and ultimately finished second in the WCC with Vettel second in the WDC. The DDFs remained for another season in 2010 which provided the monster RB6 which had all of the bells and whistles: DDF, EBD (yep), FW DRS, F-duct, cannon exit, extreme coke-bottle/shrink-wrapping, pullrods, unimpinged beam wing, etc. Beast of a car.
