F1 2026: Floor designs reveal aero battleground

Matthew Somerfield 24 Apr 2026 2:30 PM

Formula 1’s new regulations have resulted in a number of different design solutions being employed by the teams this season.

A hotly contested design region on these cars is the floor ahead of the rear tyre, with a variety of solutions employed by the designers to help mitigate the aerodynamic issues created by the rear tyre.

Floor slots: Different solutions to a common problem

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Much more freedom has been granted to the designers in this region, with slots, fully enclosed holes and flaps all in play.

Teams have a history of using solutions here to help combat tyre squirt, the phenomenon created by the rotating and deforming tyre and is damaging to the performance of the diffuser.

Alpine have opted for increasingly wider horizontal slots in the rear corner of the A526’s floor, with metal support brackets near the edge to reduce flexion under load.

On top of the rear deck there’s also an additional dog-eared flap to further help in altering the flow ahead of the rear tyre.

Aston Martin have opted for multiple solutions in the floor’s rear section, with a trio of cross cut L-shaped sections at the front.

Meanwhile, at the rear there’s two fully enclosed holes set into a section of the floor that’s ramped up toward the tyre.

The Audi R26 features several generously sized and heavily contoured L-shaped flap sections, with geometries similar to the front wing footplate designs we have encountered in the past.

The Cadillac MAC-26 has a complete rear cutout in the outermost rear corner that’s been fitted with a vertical metal baffle vane.

Two cross cut L-shaped sections fill the void, with the rearmost creating a larger deck section.

On top of that deck is another horizontal slat, which is held above the deck by a metal support bracket near the section’s edge.

Ferrari have opted for arched profiles to increase the height of their cutouts, whilst a dog-eared flap is also employed near the trailing edge.

Haas has two slots in the VF-26’s rear section of the floor, with a narrower one employed at the front.

The designers have clearly optimised their design around the leading edge thickness of each section too, as they look to invoke the requisite flow around them.

A long but narrow dog-eared flap can also be found near the floor’s edge.

The McLaren MCL40’s floor features multiple slots, with the forward elements creating forward wrapping tails.

The rearmost section doesn’t have the same sort of tail as those ahead but does reach forward a little at the edge.

Mercedes made changes to their floor ahead of the season opener, retiring the multi-element winglet in the rearmost corner (inset).

The team switched to a two-stage arrangement, with a two element elongated L-Shaped flap arrangement at the front.

A more simplistic and steeply pitched horizontal flap sits at the rear.

Racing Bulls have a short vertical baffle vane in the rear inboard section of the floor, with two elongated L-shaped flaps ahead.

Red Bull have three diagonal slots in the RB22’s floor, with the floor around them raised and contoured in accordance with their increasing length.

Williams made changes to FW48’s floor at the Japanese Grand Prix, as they added a vertical baffle cane on the side of the two rearmost elements.

The vane retains a slot in line with the one between the two elements it sits upon (old specification, inset).

Additional reporting by Mat Coch

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