Gary Anderson urges FIA to immediately make one 2026 F1 rule change that might ‘upset’ McLaren

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Although the Barcelona shakedown was behind closed doors, F1 teams have been given their first taste of what this year’s cars will look like after one of the biggest rule changes in Formula 1 history.

Mercedes completed the most laps at the Circuit de Catalunya, while Audi and Cadillac made it out on track as they made their debuts.

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap, and Red Bull will be hoping that the curse of the second seat hasn’t already hit Isack Hadjar after a crash on Tuesday in rainy conditions.

One of the main aims of the updated 2026 regulations was to make following and overtaking easier.

However, car designer and technical expert Gary Anderson has spotted something on some of the new machines that is already worrying him.

So much so that he’s already calling on the FIA to make a technical rule change now before the Australian Grand Prix kicks off the season next month.

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Gary Anderson tells the FIA to make 2026 rule change that could fix potential outwash issue

Anderson was speaking about the outwash issue on The Race F1 Podcast as the FIA tries to make following, and therefore overtaking, easier with the new generation of cars.

Several cars appeared to be minimising inwash with attachments to the car in the barge board area and small slots in the barge boards.

Talking about the potential problem, Anderson explained: “I mean, this is a typical example in my book of the regulations being written with a little gap being left in there that teams have found.

“Nobody has got a truckload of spares yet or developments or anything.

“And this is the time when the FIA could step in quite quickly and say, excuse me, chaps, but that surface has to be impervious.

“It could be done now, and basically it’s a roll of duct tape away from being an impervious surface.

Which British driver would you sign if you were an F1 team boss in 2026?

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“Just tape up those slots, and that’s what you’ve got. If you can’t make new bits, you still have to comply.

“That’s the sort of thing that can be done this early in the season. And to be honest, if they really are adamant that they want to try and minimise this outwash and create better racing because they believe that’s the reason that racing is not as good as it should be, now’s the time to act.

“Not halfway through the season or any point in time when all the teams have got spares lying around them, and they’ve done a lot of development time into certain areas.

“Do it now, get it done with. Upset a few people, but that’s life.”

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F1 teams taking ‘super aggressive’ approach to 2026 ruleset ahead of the Australian Grand Prix

Williams finally launched their car on Tuesday after missing the Barcelona shakedown, meaning fans have now seen versions of all 11 cars that will be on the grid in Melbourne.

James Vowles still thinks Williams are missing something despite delaying their on-track debut, but they would have been able to see exactly what their rivals are doing ahead of testing in Bahrain.

Mercedes look like the early pacesetters, with George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli benefiting from fantastic reliability as well as a very quick car.

Aston Martin’s car has been described as ‘super aggressive’ as Adrian Newey tackled yet another new set of regulations.

Anderson has previously voiced his concerns about McLaren’s barge boards, and now that the problem is more widespread, wants the sport’s governing body to act.

But the FIA will be most concerned with how competitive the field is and whether cars can actually race and overtake.

If Anderson’s concerns do come true, then the FIA would have waited too long to decide on the slotted barge boards.