F1 2026: Allison Hails Reduced Dependence on Ground Effect

James Allison praises the FIA’s decision to reduce ground effect for the 2026 F1 cars, enhancing overall versatility and performance.

The 2026 F1 cars will rely less on ground effect, offering greater versatility. The FIA had previously explained that ground effect would be reduced in favour of aerodynamic grip, a decision welcomed by James Allison, Technical Director of Mercedes F1, who has been advocating against the reliance on the Venturi effect since 2022.

“I’m sure I talk about it a lot because it’s one of my pet topics, but personally, I don’t think it’s a good thing,” Allison stated. “I don’t think it’s good for the cars to operate with so little clearance from the ground when they leave the garage.”

Allison emphasises the importance of getting the current cars to run slightly higher off the ground, as the regulations themselves hinder versatility: “Under the old regulations, you could have a car that was more consistent across circuits with similar characteristics.”

“If the speed range wasn’t too broad, you could set your car up so that the corners matched your strengths, without suffering too much from a loss of speed in one area or another.”

“But when you go to a track that tests the car more, like Austin, for example, where you’ve got very fast corners, slow ones, intermediate bends, decent straights, and bumps, it puts a strain on the areas where performance drops.”

“It tests the lack of downforce at the end of straights, and you need to stay strong in the fast corners. It’s difficult to get the car to do all that under a set of rules that demands nothing but being close to the ground.”