Oscar Piastri keen to exploit 'fundamental' F1 shift with 2026 regulations

Oscar Piastri believes the new feeling of F1 aerodynamics could create opportunities for drivers in the 2026 season.

For the coming season, the aerodynamic philosophy has been changed with the ground effect rules replaced by active aerodynamics, and the return of the rake. 

The rake is the difference in height between the front and rear of the car, with this being a strong component of the 2017-2021 rules as opposed to the flat bottoms and floors as close to the track as possible to create downforce.

Instead, the downforce is now largely generated from air flowing over the body of the car and the wings, which creates a different feeling for the drivers, especially in corner entry, with the new machines branded as more "oversteery" by Lewis Hamilton.

For Piastri, going into his first regulation change in F1, he is hoping that the difference in aero feeling will create "more leeway" for drivers.

"For me, it is quite different to what we had last year with the ground effect cars," Piastri told media, including RacingNews365.

"You generated a lot of downforce when you were super low to the ground, so it was almost an exponential amount of downforce you gained at high speed, whereas this year, we're going back to more conventional overbody aero, and the way that behaves is a bit different.

"The characteristics of the car are going to be quite different. The ground effect cars were pretty specific in the way you had to drive them, especially on the way into the corners, so maybe there'll be a bit more leeway to manage that a bit better this year.

"We've obviously only done three days of testing, but there are definitely some pretty fundamental differences in the way the car feels."