"If we weren't learning lessons, we'd be dead" - F1 already working on 2026 car with data obtained from 2022 versions

The man behind F1's technical revolution, Pat Symonds, is already working on concepts for the 2026 car after implementing the learnings from what is being observed this season. Speaking to the media, Symonds explained that in the world of F1 you cannot sit still and his team is already picking up cues from the first few races of the new regulations.

The British motorsport engineer said:

“If we weren’t learning lessons, we’d be dead. I think when you design a car, you’re never happy with it. The minute it’s finished, you just think ‘I could have done a better job’. And I think that with the ‘22 car, that was the case. "I’m really, really happy with what we’ve produced. But there are things that could be better. It won’t be for ‘23 or ‘25, but I think for ‘26, the next car, there’s lots of things. So we’re not talking about tweaking, we’re talking about first principles.”

The new technical regulations have seen a change in the way racing is done in F1 as now cars can follow each other much closer than they used to in 2021. As a result, the sport is witnessing a better product with better wheel-to-wheel action during races.

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We can already see changes in racing in F1: Pat Symonds

Pat Symonds also touched on how his team is already crunching the numbers from the first two races and the changes are already visible. He still cautioned against jumping to conclusions after just two races and advised waiting for a bigger sample size, saying:

“We’ve crunched some of the data, we will do an internal report after a few more races. I always say don’t do things on a sample of one, don’t do it on a sample of two either. It never was about overtaking, this is a common misconception. It’s about following. We started monitoring it a few years ago, so we could start to build up the picture. Now we can see a change.”

The 68-year-old then went on to add, saying:

“We’ve had two races, but I think what evidence there is, is pointing in a positive direction. So I’m really hopeful that this year, we will get good, close racing. We’ve learned from this car, and we have confidence in our tools. A lot of people were very cynical as to whether we’d achieve anything, but we’ve proven that we can do it, and we understand the problem.”

Racing in F1 has changed this season, especially after looking at the first two races. It will be interesting to see what is on offer in 2026 when we see another major overhaul.