FIA shouldn’t backtrack on restricting 2026 F1 aero rules

Esteban Ocon hopes the FIA maintains a tight leash on the 2026 Formula 1 aerodynamic regulations to ensure more teams can enter the picture for victories.

The 2026 rules will herald the introduction of active aerodynamics on the front and rear wings, along with a shallower floor to limit the effectiveness of the Venturi tunnels. The cars will also be narrower and shorter in an effort to improve their overall agility. 

Revealed ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, the rules have gained criticism from a handful of teams having been deemed too restrictive, with vocal opposition to some of the proposals set out by the FIA. 

However, Ocon, who will join Haas on a multi-year deal from 2025, wants the regulations to remain tight to ensure the teams are evenly matched at the beginning of the rules cycle – rather than spread out owing to diverging development paths at the start of 2026. 

“[Currently] I disagree with the fact that we see different winners,” Ocon began. “Yes, McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari, they’re still the same ones there was long time ago, and a long time before. McLaren has joined them, so one team managed, basically, in that regulation change to make it through. 

“There is a constructors’ championship and there’s still which team is the best which counts. But all the cars should be within three or four tenths. 

“I see that [the new rules are] very restricted on many different things aero-wise, and I see teams are pushing to open it more. So I hope FIA is going to be very tight on that to say, ‘no, we don’t push it more open’.  

“Because if that’s the case, then it’s going to be up to who does the best job inside the weekend, more than the overall development of the car.  

“What do we love as fans? We love racing, we love close wheel-to-wheel combat, we love a lot of fights for the lead, until the end of the race.  

“We care a lot less about who has the best development through the season, that is not very cool to watch on TV on Sunday.” 

Ocon added that the ideal scenario was to have a field spread more akin to that he experienced during his time racing in Formula 3 and in the DTM, even suggesting that Formula E’s current closeness of performance between teams was an ideal scenario. 

Although this would make the powertrains – also redefined for 2026 – a bigger factor in performance, Ocon feels that it would nonetheless present a much more muted…