Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache has warned the FIA against using active aerodynamics components to ‘patch’ over the shortcomings of the new generation of F1 cars. This follows Max Verstappen’s comments about potential car weight issues as the sport prepares for the 2026 technical regulation changes.
The 2026 regulation changes are centred around a change to the power units used in F1 cars. The next generation will utilise an even split between internal combustion engine power and electrical power, while active aerodynamics components could be used to improve racing.
“You cannot put patch on patch on patch to achieve something,” Wache told Motorsport.com. “You have to look at the problem with a bigger view and say, ‘How do I sort this out and how do I solve my problem?
“What car characteristic do I need to achieve something?’ If you need a patch to solve some things, you can still do that afterwards. But you don’t start with a patch first. Otherwise, it never works.”
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Wache also criticised the process used by the FIA to determine the 2026 regulations, adding: “But the thing is that they didn’t think through the full concept [of the new regulations] at the same time. First, they defined the engine regulations and now we have to cope with that on the chassis side to compensate for the issue we have.”
These comments follow the concerns of Verstappen, who was extremely concerned about his first experience with the new generation of cars in the Red Bull simulator. The Red Bull star hasn’t been shy when it comes to criticising the FIA’s decision-making over the past 12 months.
Outlining his complaints, Verstappen said: “You have the active aerodynamics, which you can’t control, and the system will control it for you. Which then I think makes it very awkward to drive because I prefer to control it myself.
“Of course, when you’re behind someone, maybe you need more front or more rear. These kinds of things. But if the system starts to control that for you, I don’t think that’s the right way forward.
“Plus, the weight is going up again. So yeah, we have to seriously look at this because I mean, ’26 is not that far away. And at the moment, to me, it looks very bad from all the numbers and what I see from the data already. So, it’s not something I’m very excited about at the moment.”
