17/04/2024
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen continues to express concern over the direction the sport is heading, particularly in terms of active aero.
The three-time world champion has previously expressed his fears for the 2026 regulations overhaul, and these will not have been eased by the recent revelation, albeit by Red Bull, that early simulator tests with an active rear wing, which would alternate between high downforce through corners and low downforce on straights, has shown worrying issues in terms of the shift of aerodynamic performance, with cars spinning while accelerating in a straight line and extremely unstable in even the slightest of curves.
Consequently, the FIA is now looking at movable wings front and rear which would hopefully work in conjunction with one another and distribute the overall balance more evenly.
"I think we'll have to deal with some compromises on some tracks, you know, where you use a lot of energy per lap," says Verstappen, according to MotorsportWeek.com. "And of course, you know, with the potential like active aero and stuff...
"I'm not sure if we should head into that direction," he continues, "but that's what it's looking like at the moment. Hopefully, we can optimise all these kind of things.
"For me, it's more important to just try and fight the weight of the cars, try and optimise that instead of all these tools and tricks to try and help the overtaking or following. There must be different ways to be able to do it.
"I guess, also, with the engine regulation that they went into, they kind of need to do that to create the top speed and basically you know where the battery stops deploying and stuff. Some tracks will work a bit better some tracks probably it's a bit more on the edge.
"Of course, people will try to counter my arguments, but I guess we'll find out in '26, but also I'm not really thinking, of course, too much about it because we have a lot of work in the seasons up until '26. But we'll see if we can improve it a bit."
"I think it's all a consequence of the engine regulations," adds Carlos Sainz. "In the end, if you have a lot more energy requested from the electric powertrain, you're going to need to have, in a way, active aerodynamics to compensate.
"And that is where it all starts to get messy with the overtaking and the active aero and how you can do that to help the car to go quicker on the straight and spend less time full throttle."
However, the Spaniard admits that it is wrong to write-off the proposals before they have been seen in action - though, based on previous experience many will feel that by then it will be too late and once again vast amounts of money and time will have been spent on a 'solution' that fails to pay off.
"Until we try them, I think it's unfair to criticise or back the regulations," says Sainz. "At the same time, if it has attracted manufacturers, big manufacturers like Audi, into the sport, I think it's something that it has to be appreciated and put into context.
"My personal view is that these cars now are probably just too big and too heavy and if I would have to change something for tomorrow, it would be that.
"And then the suspension, I think the suspensions are becoming a big talking point in a lot of the tracks and how we brought them into some corners and how taxing it can be for the driver."
Indeed, Sainz believes that if the sport is seriously considering active aero then now is the time to bring back active suspension.
"If we are going to have active aero, why not active suspension to protect the backs of the drivers and to protect our own health and the safety of certain tracks?" he said. "It's clear that right now we are asking way too many things to the tracks and to the circuits, to the organisations, to change many small bumps that before we wouldn't even feel with the '21 car, and now we just can spin or have a pretty big accident because of those situations.
"So if I would have to ask or add one thing for the '26 would be something to protect us a bit on that front."