F1 drivers will have NEW feature in 2026 and your car already has it

F1 2026

F1 drivers will have NEW feature in 2026 and your car already has it

F1 is heading into a new era in 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 6 January 2026 16:48

2026 F1 cars are set to have a feature that most fans will be familiar with on their own road cars.

Next season in F1 will see a whole host of changes, as the 2026 regulations reset is set to be one of the largest that the sport has ever seen.

Not only are power units being massively reformed to feature a 50-50 split between electrical energy and the internal combustion engine that can run off 100 per cent sustainable fuels, but aerodynamic car design rules are facing a huge overhaul too.

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Cars will be smaller, lighter, more nimble and hopefully able to provide us with better racing action, particularly around narrow street circuits.

And fans will likely notice that the cars look quite a bit different to the 2025 ground effect cars too, although they will still unmistakably look like an F1 car.

That is until they have a crash or a problem that forces them to slow down and come to a halt; but the 2026 cars will have hazard lights attached to their wing mirrors, which will flash like hazard lights on a road car whenever they need to warn other drivers that the car is running slower than usual.

As in previous years of F1, there will also be flashing lights on the rear wing and the rear crash structure too, giving other drivers plenty of warning that the car ahead is not running as fast as it should be.

New car design features

While this improved safety is of vital importance, F1 fans will also be keen to understand how the new aerodynamic rules will work when it comes to the 2026 F1 cars.

Cars will be lighter by 30kg in the 2026 season, the wheelbase will be reduced by 20cm and the car width will be reduced by 10cm.

The maximum floor width will also be reduced by 15cm, while the width of the front tyres will be decreased by 2.5cm and the rears by 3cm.

F1 front wings will be 10cm narrower and will feature a two element active flap. The rear wing will then have a three element flap and the lower beam wing has been removed.

The removal of this is key, to ensure that a following car will encounter less turbulence or 'dirty air', a major impediment to overtaking this past year.

The hope is that the new rules allow us to have closer racing, and that there will be fewer instances in this coming year where whoever is starting on pole remains largely unchallenged throughout the grand prix, as happened on several occasions in 2025.

F1 2026 regulations