“It’s Difficult for a Designer” – Adrian Newey’s Manager Explains the Aerodynamicists’ Point of View on 2026 Regulations

The 2026 regulations reset is going to pose an interesting challenge for the personnel of every F1 team. Speaking about these changes, Adrian Newey’s manager Eddie Jordan explained why particularly aerodynamicists will face the biggest challenge of them all.

Jordan began by explaining that all the resources and manpower in terms of design are already being allocated to the 2026 regulations. That being said, given the characteristics of the rule change that is to come with this reset, a lot of factors are beyond the control of designers even as great as Newey.

On the Formula for Success podcast, the 76-year-old explained, “It’s difficult for a designer because there are so many other things outside of their control. The battery pack, the engine, the use of the various different aspects.”

The 2026 regulations are predominantly focused on revamping the power unit side of the sport. The main underlying theme is the push for sustainability. While the new engines will be using 100% sustainable fuels, the power distribution between the combustion engine and the battery pack has also been reallocated to a 50-50 model.

Therefore, according to Jordan, the bulk of the work will be spent on the engine development side of things. However, with the active aerodynamic systems that are proposed, designers will have their hands full in terms of re-designing an already complicated component – the front wing – to accommodate the active aero facilities.

Active aerodynamics will give F1 designers a massive headache in 2026

One of the biggest talking points of the 2026 regulations is the introduction of active or adjustable aero. In essence, drivers will have both an adjustable rear and front wing at their disposal to deploy either a high-downforce or low-downforce profile during races.

“They are going to have their hands full with this adjustable aerodynamics,” added Jordan. While the rear wing would not be as complicated to decode, Jordan feels that the teams will have the most amount of difficulty figuring out how to embed these systems on the front of the car.

It is being suggested that the high-downforce package will be available to the drivers during the cornering phase of the circuit whilst the low-downforce configuration would be at their disposal on the straights.