Formula 1 bids farewell to the current ground-effect cars in just a few races\u2019 time, but how will the concept be remembered? Some of the F1 team bosses have had their say\u2026<\/p>\n
F1 moves to an entirely different aerodynamic philosophy in 2026, returning to active aerodynamics for the first time since their banning at the end of 1993 (when active suspension was used to provide a stable aero platform). The current cars, which utilised ground effect for their primary source of downforce, will be consigned to the history books, but will they be remembered with fondness?<\/p>\n
Laurent Mekies: Ground effect cars have given us a great show<\/p>\n
Ground effect as a concept was banned in 1982, with F1 then embarking on almost 40 continuous years of utilising overbody airflow to generate downforce by pushing the car down onto the track.<\/p>\n
But the wake turbulence generated by this philosophy meant following other cars became very difficult, with overtaking even more so. When devising a new regulation set for 2022, F1 and the FIA thus turned back to ground-effect for a modern iteration of the philosophy, which utilises suction generated by the floor as the primary method of creating aerodynamic downforce.<\/p>\n
It was quite clear in 2022 that cars could follow each other far more closely, with the level of air disturbance considerably reduced, although, as teams made gains over the years since, this wake turbulence has increased as the cars\u2019 performance levels began to converge. Another hurdle that has arisen is that ground-effect also creates more water spray in wet conditions, reducing visibility.<\/p>\n
As well as the chassis rules changing, F1 is also bidding farewell to the current hybrid engines that were introduced in 2014, with a switch to a power unit of the same architecture but with greater electrical power output.<\/p>\n
With the development of the F1 2025 cars now all but concluded as teams look to the new regulation set, what is the general sentiment amongst the team bosses about how this four-year era will be remembered?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if you ask Stefano [Domenicali], he\u2019ll probably remind you that we were all criticising these cars before they came out!\u201d Red Bull<\/a> boss Laurent Mekies laughed when asked for his thoughts on whether they fulfilled the brief of increasing overtaking.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd in the end, we got incredible racing. I was in the \u2018bad guys\u2019 group\u2014we were all thinking that the cars would all be the same, that there would be too much standardisation, and that performance levels would be too close. It turned out not to be exactly true. We got four years of incredible competition.<\/p>\n \u201cUp to now, you still have one team dominating, and another team has been dominating in the past. So I think, when you combine that with the fact that these cars are the fastest ever, or nearly so, I think they\u2019ve given us quite a great show. We\u2019ve seen a lot of overtaking this year. So personally, I feel good about these cars.<\/p>\n \u201cThey brought something great to Formula 1 \u2013 technologically very advanced. It was a challenge for everyone. The ground effect cars caught nearly all the teams out in 2022, with the bouncing and everything. I think we had a great show. And combined with this engine, I think it raised the bar to a very high level.\u201d<\/p>\n More on the F1 2026 regulations<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Explained: The 2026 engine regulations set to seriously shake up Formula 1<\/a><\/p>\n