McLaren Eyes Return of Key 'Rake' Setup Trick Under 2026 F1 Rules

McLaren's technical leadership indicates that the 2026 Formula 1 regulations will reintroduce more freedom for teams to use 'rake'—a setup where the car's rear is higher than the front—as a key performance-tuning tool. This marks a shift from the current ground-effect era, which heavily restricted such manipulation, and could play a significant role in the upcoming title fight.

Why it matters:

The ability to fine-tune a car's aerodynamic attitude through its ride height is a fundamental performance differentiator. A return to greater setup flexibility means teams with strong simulation tools and clever engineers could find a crucial competitive edge, making car development and race weekend setup choices even more pivotal in the championship battle.

The details:

• The 'rake' angle, prevalent from 2017-2021, was largely eliminated by the 2022 ground-effect regulations, which required flat floors for optimal underfloor tunnel performance.
• McLaren Performance Technical Director Mark Temple describes the 2026 aerodynamic philosophy as "somewhere between" the pre-2022 and current eras, but not exactly in the middle.
• A key change is reduced "extreme sensitivity to ride height," which plagued previous generations of cars. This lower sensitivity grants engineers "more freedom to manipulate the car attitude to affect the handling without making the car go slower."
• While core performance differentiators—power unit output, aerodynamics, and tire management—remain unchanged, Temple notes predicting on-track aerodynamic performance will be "harder" initially due to the complexity of the new rules and the early stage of the regulation cycle.

What's next:

As teams finalize their 2026 car concepts, the renewed emphasis on mechanical setup and aerodynamic manipulation will test their simulation capabilities. McLaren's insight suggests that success in the new era will depend not just on raw aerodynamic downforce but on mastering a broader set of tools to optimize the car's behavior, potentially reshuffling the competitive order based on which team best adapts to this regained freedom.