Okay so first things first I’m a chemical engineer so my knowledge of fluid dynamics is limited to fluids flowing through pipes and tubes and I will try to briefly explain stuff.

There is no doubt that when we consider fluid flowing over a surface the fluid properties play important role in it. Properties like Reynolds Number which determine turbulence of air are determined by fluid properties like Viscosity, Velocity, density etc. so there’s no doubt that the aerodynamics will of course be different if you run the car in air vs an imaginary situation where you run the car under water.

Now air is mixture of gases where properties can be found be found out based on the air composition. But one thing which changes extremely is the relative humidity. Races like Monaco will have extreme water content as there located right next to sea compared to races like Bahrain which will be dry (or something similar). My question is do aerodynamicist consider this change in water content throughout different races? Is something like weighted average taken for properties like we chemical engineers take when dealing mixture of fluids? Or the effect too minimal to consider this?

Formula 1 is gearing up for a seismic shift in 2026, and the new technical regulations are at the heart of it all. From doubling hybrid power output and introducing fully sustainable fuels to scrapping the MGU-H, the changes aim to make F1 greener, leaner, and more competitive than ever.

But it’s not all smooth sailing for the teams. With a tighter cost cap, drag-reduction challenges, and a push to slash car weight, designers and engineers face a balancing act like never before. And let’s not forget the mission to keep those iconic engine sounds alive while embracing a more electric future.

I’ve broken down the key challenges and opportunities these new rules bring in my latest piece: Revving into the Future: Key Challenges of F1’s 2026 Regulations.

How do you think these changes will impact the grid? Will we see new teams enter the sport, or will the big players continue to dominate? Let me know your thoughts below! 👇

TL;DR: F1’s 2026 regulations overhaul aims to push sustainability and competition but brings big challenges for teams. Read more here: Full Article.

So for example if a tyre wouldn't come off, can a second crew member help pull it off?

I guess I'm also asking if they do one person per corner because of the personnel limit or if it's a hard rule that it has to be 1 per corner.

So I'm doing a side project and it would facilitate a lot if there was a single place where I could find all improvement and changes in cars along the years. I think every info that I need it's findable searching on google, I just want to know if there would be some kind of list to make things easier.

For example, f1 cars had 4 gears in 1950, when some team or the regulation decided to add more gears? When teams got rid of the clutch pedal? When front and back wings started to be a thing? When brake bias started to be a thing or to be able to be changed by the driver mid race?...

I don't want answer to these questions as I know I can search them up, just would like to see if anyone knows a good place were I could have everything listed together in a more detailed level then Wikipedia

Shared it here previously: https://www.reddit.com/r/F1Technical/comments/1fm2cvq/i_made_a_drag_and_drop_points_calculator_in_f1/

I have now updated it with a new UI for the 2025 season.

I'm talking about the cars from 2022 to 2025. The ones with the rounder front wing and rear wing. In 2021 they were very sharp.

I'm working on an algorithm that generates an optimal racing line (time minimal) for a given track, and I tested my alg today on a track and I got this weird ass looking line. Since I'm not an expert, I was wondering if this looks right or if I messed something up cuz this looks werid :(

Hello! 👋 I've been working on a platform - The F1 Penalty Watch - dedicated to analyzing F1 penalties over the years. The goal is to create a centralized tool where fans, analysts, and enthusiasts can easily access data on penalties, spot trends, and gain insights into decision-making by stewards.

The main features consist of:

• A database of the official penalties, converted to be indexed, searched and retrieved. Each incident is displayed through a card, which allows the consultation of the telemetry (thanks FastF!) of the incident, when available.

• AI features to obtain an explanation of similar cases (helpful to find trends) and predictions based on past cases and users' queries.

• Exploration features to evaluate trends and patterns across seasons, tracks etc, including a network of drivers connected by their "incidents" on track.

These functions are all functioning locally and my first tests of release are positive. Therefore, I'm planning a first release before the first race of 2025!

I'm by no means a professional developer and I have a legal background. I’m reaching out to this community to ask you a simple question:

"What features would you find most useful or exciting? Are there tools or functionalities you think are missing in existing resources?"

Your feedback would mean a lot to shape the platform!

If u read the Rules , it's shocking how bad they are.

1) Overtaking will be incredibly hard

Currently F1 is using DRS to even have a chance to overtake. Their mini Aero changes against Dirty Air won't do anything. This new Override Boost only happens after 290km/h. But some tracks only have 290km/h couple of seconds.

2) Engine Noise will be even more silent.

Yes they are removing the MGU-h but they are also switching to lower Fuel tank ( 70kg only ).

Because Teams have less fuel to burn, RPMs will be down causing Engines to be more silent despite removal of MGU-h

3) Active Aero

Like who came with this Idea? More dirty Air, more complex and more expensive

4) Charging the Battery in the Race

Driver could be more focused on charging the battery during race. FIA only allowed Rear breaking to get energy for the Battery

At the front of the field in F1, it's optimal to get consistent results across a season, so they need to make well rounded cars that are fast at both Spa and Singapore. On the other hand, due to the top ten scoring system, one good result can often be the difference between 8th and 10th in the WCC. This means that focusing resources to make a car that is really competitive at one specific track could be the best strategy at the back of the field, and Monaco is the standout track that's the least like the others, so why don't we ever see this?

With PGE, will they be less impacted by dirty air and be able to closely follow the car in front?

Will the slipstream effect be stronger or weaker?

Why can't every car make its own downforce and have action at every corner instead of the ones after straights?

Edit : Im talking about the McMurty/Murray fan cars and similar ones

What’s your preference?

The HALO, which has already proven its reliability and remains the closest to an open cockpit design. It also allows for the most airflow, aiding in driver cooling. However, a downside is that small debris can still pass through and potentially hit the driver (as in Massa’s incident).

Or the Aeroscreen, which likely offers more aerodynamic advantages and also protects the driver from small debris. The downside is that it’s more enclosed, resulting in reduced cooling (although IndyCar has worked on improving this). Personally, I feel it also makes the driver less visible.

Good morning F1Technical!

Please post your queries as posts on their own right, this is not intended to be a megathread

Its Wednesday, so today we invite you to post any F1 or Motorsports in general queries, which may or may not have a technical aspect.

The usual rules around joke comments will apply, and we will not tolerate bullying, harassment or ridiculing of any user who posts a reasonable question. With that in mind, if you have a question you've always wanted to ask, but weren't sure if it fitted in this sub, please post it!

This idea is currently on a trial basis, but we hope it will encourage our members to ask those questions they might not usually - as per the announcement post, sometimes the most basic of questions inspire the most interesting discussions.

Whilst we encourage all users to post their inquiries during this period, please note that this is still F1Technical, and the posts must have an F1 or Motorsports leaning!

With that in mind, fire away!

Cheers

B

I have been watching the whole race and nothing exciting happened and no one was going ridiculously slow but that's a huge gap from 5th to 6th. Something to do with the first year with the new style of tyres?

A bit off topic but i was wondering why they changed the name and lay-out of the gp on this circuit, after i believe 2020. Obviously, the track got longer, and in my opinion this is a better lay-out. And are there any car related reasons they did this? But why alsof change the name? Hope some of you can clearing things up for me.

So, I’ve just watched the docu-series "Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story." It was okay—interesting because I knew nothing about that story—but it felt a bit like an episode of Drive to Survive with Keanu Reeves narrating.

Anyway, in the third episode, during the British GP, Jenson Button talks about his struggles to get tyre temperatures in certain conditions. Rubens Barrichello points out that Jenson’s gentle steering technique made it harder for him to heat up the tyres, especially in colder conditions:

"Jenson is very gentle with a steering wheel. So whenever there was a lower track temperature, he would suffer, not getting the right amount of temperature on the tyre... It’s difficult because it is with you. A driver has a way to turn the wheel that he feels more comfortable and a way to drive."

This got me wondering:

1. Is this still the case today? Does a driver’s steering technique still play a role in tyre temperature management?
2. Or do modern F1 teams now have the technology (e.g., advanced tyre warmers, data-driven setups) to compensate for this?
3. Finally, how exactly would a steering technique influence tyre temperatures? Is it about generating more slip or something else entirely?

Thanks for any insights!

Hello,

I'm researching about the dynamics of a car suspension, a random interest - however I've got questions that Google can't help with

Wheels

1. Race cars use Nitrogen because pressure and therefore the contact patch is more consistent. Does temperature affect the traction of the wheel if pressure remains the same? For example, if the wheel is 180 Celsius and 32 PSI, would the traction be any different if it was 200 Celsius and 32 PSI?
2. Does pressure and temperature directly correlate? If a car uses Nitrogen and therefore the pressure remains more consistent, does that also mean that the temperature is more consistent? Yes, the pressure being more consistent directly causes the temperatures to be more consistent
3. Why do race cars normally use wider rear wheels, even if it's 55/45 and 4-wheel-drive?
4. How do engineers decide the pattern of grooves? Not sure about the exact pattern, however it revolves around hydrodynamics in general, how much water you want to move, and the speed the car is capable of
5. What about wheels have improved so much over the last 50 years? Wheel materials improving and computer simulation analysis

Roll Bars

1. Why would Roll Bars ever be different?
2. How do you decide which Roll Bars are lower and higher?
3. How do you decide the difference between the Roll Bars? Is there a ratio to calculate, or do you simply tune until the car behaves how you prefer?
4. Does the lighter wheel copy the heavier wheel and lower, or does the heavier wheel copy the lighter wheel and rise?
5. How can Roll Bars that are too high lift the lighter wheel during a turn?
6. Do higher Roll Bars on both sides reduce traction when using high Spring Rates?
7. If one side has a low Roll Bar and the other has high Roll Bar, the higher side will saturate first. Why?

Spring Rates

1. Why would Spring Rates ever be different?
2. How do you decide which Spring Rates are lower and higher?
3. How do you decide the difference between the Spring Rates? Is there a ratio to calculate, or do you simply tune until the car behaves how you prefer? There would be some sort of calculation and then you'd fine-tune for driver preference. I'll add another edit after learning a bit more
4. Wouldn't the perfect way to tune the Spring Rates actually start with figuring out the highest uneven surface of the track and tuning the Damping from there, with Spring Rates being wheel travel and Damping being wheel speed? Not quite. Cool idea, but really the tune would depend on the perfect compromises about the car in general for the track
5. If one side has a low Spring Rate and the other has high Spring Rate, the higher side will saturate first. Why?

Damping

1. Why would Dampers ever be different? (I know Compression Damping should be less than Decompression Damping, I mean both Compression and both Decompression)
2. How do you decide which Dampers are lower and higher?
3. How do you decide the difference between the Dampers? Is there a ratio to calculate, or do you simply tune until the car behaves how you prefer?
4. Please may you explain chronologically how the Dampers affect Understeer and Oversteer during normal braking, trail-braking, turning, and back to a straight line? (Example: how would decreasing front Compression change those things, how would increasing front Compression change those things, etc.)
5. What change to what Dampers could help with lift-off Oversteer?

Differential

1. Locked Differentials hand the same power to both wheels and makes them rotate the same speed. If the wheels rotate the same speed, then how can the car even go around a turn when one wheel is carving a bigger circle, therefore needing to rotate faster?
2. Why do Unlocked Differentials hand more power to the lighter wheel? When racing on tarmac, you'd want more power to go to the heavier wheel to create more turning power. When off-roading, you'd want more power to go to the heavier wheel because it's got better traction
3. If you wanted more Oversteer in a 4-wheel-drive car, what would the difference be between increasing the acceleration lock and increasing the rear bias if both increase Oversteer?
4. Why would the lock percentages be different? (Example: 45/75, 55/25, 70)
5. How do you decide which wheel has got which lock? (Why would the front acceleration lock be lower or higher, why would the front deceleration be lower or higher, etc.)

General

1. If it requires more force to move higher Roll Bars and Spring Rates, why is the weight transfer and therefore the response of the car better? Is it because higher Spring Rates give the Dampers a shorter goal, causing the weight transfer to be better?
2. Why does the suspension being higher on the front and lower on the rear increase Understeer and lower on the front and higher on the rear increase Oversteer?
3. How would you know which component to tune first and how would the other components be tuned for it?
4. What's the order/routine of going over a tune?

Thank you

Appendix 1 is basically a bunch of information about the event that’s going to take place. F1 Article 12 concerns the appointment of an organiser for a competition. F2 Article 12 is worded similarly, but then specifies that both parts of Appendix 1 will be forwarded to all competitors by the promoter (both the organiser and promoter are selected by the ASN, although that isn’t relevant for this question). It seems like the F1 Appendix 1 is only required by the FIA, and isn’t provided to competitors, therefore my question is why not, or if it is, why isn’t it published before an event like the F2 Appendix 1? Sorry if this is a dumb question

I'm asking since the dawn of the sport when there were sadly many deaths every week, obviously there were regulation changes and designs but what were the biggest upgrades to safety per generations (or decades) from the start of the sport to Ratzenberger's and Senna's fatal accidents, I obviously know about the halo that saved Grosjean's life but what were other innovations, did cars became more slower maybe heavier?

Sorry if this question seemed stupid I'm watching F1 since 2021 so I didn't follow years prior

Can macros be created to execute a series of settings changes with a single driver input? Eg. A ‘turn 4’ macro that changes brake balance, differential and battery deployment with one button press? Or must each driver input only affect one parameter?

I’m guessing that the engine mode settings change multiple parameters within the engine at once so maybe macros are possible for other settings?

Following up from my previous overtake my, I have created one for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix!

A few notes on this, lap one and the final lap are removed due to how the data is managed around these laps, its much more difficult to obtain proper running order.

This shows every time someones position increased (ex. P3 -> P2). This unfortunately includes passing in the pits (why there is a lot of changes in the pit straight), as well as DNFs.

So what corner is best to sit by? Turn 6 and 7 saw good action, and you likely would be able to see Turn 16 at the same time. Turns 1 to 5 were not very action packed.

I'll be posting similar maps for the entire season shortly!

As per last time, you can find more analysis at: @stats.from.pitlane on instagram!

According to the rules causing a collision with a championship on the line would result in a points deduction but does that not apply to leaving the track and gaining and advantage or forcing another off the track? Another question is was the collision in silverstone 2021 too early too say there was a championship on the line or is it because it wasn't on purpose? This rule is really confusing me

I'm not a fan of the current spec wheel covers purely from an aesthetic point of view (the convex dish, dustbin lid look) and the fact they prevent us from seeing the hardware, brake glow etc.

So I'm very happy to see the updated 2026 FIA renders show a revised wheel cover design - with flatter surface and open center.

Anyone speculate what the 2026 technical group is going for here? The original covers designed for the 2022 regs was supposedly about cleaning up the dirty air - limiting air flow through the rim which generated turbulence upon exit. Will opening the centers have an effect on this goal? Or or this likely about something else (decreasing rim/tire temps for instance?)

What was with the 1-stops this year?

Why were there so many tracks that were historically two stoppers turned into a one stopper this year?

Watching F1 TV this year there were at least three times when they predicted it to be a two stopper due to history then it wasn’t just a driver or two, but like a majority of the grid opting for one stop.

Honestly kinda miss the two stoppers because you could counter an over/undercut in the next stop but it felt like the one stop eliminated that aspect of strategy.

Examples I can think of is Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Vegas (I know it’s newer but still)