Jolyon Palmer saw Oscar Piastri have a ground-effect era moment for the first time at 2026 F1 test

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Jolyon Palmer believes Oscar Piastri bottoming out over the bumps at the Bahrain test was the first example of the 2026 cars having similar issues to F1’s ground-effect era.

Formula 1 has introduced the biggest regulatory overhaul in history this year, with changes made to the engine, chassis, aero and tyre rules at once. The move to overhaul the chassis and aero regulations for the 2026 F1 season were largely made to aid the new power units.

The 2026 F1 cars feature a 200mm smaller wheelbase and are 100mm narrower, while the minimum weight has been reduced to 768kg, compared to the final season of the ground-effect era. F1 scrapped the ground-effect cars after four years to try to improve the racing.

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Oscar Piastri bottoming out at Bahrain’s Turn 12 reminded Jolyon Palmer of F1’s ground-effect cars

Yet, despite the 2026 F1 regulations seeing an increase in the ride height of the latest cars, McLaren star Piastri sparking as he bottomed out over the bumps at Bahrain’s Turn 12 this Thursday offered Palmer the same impression he got while watching the ground-effect era.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about F1’s 2026 engine and aero regulations

Piastri immediately fought the steering wheel on the exit of Turn 11 to try and keep the rear end of his McLaren MCL40 in check. And the Australian was again fighting to keep control as he turned into Turn 12, but he failed to catch it in time and ran off track after slowing down.

Palmer said on the F1 world feed (19/02, 12:28): “Fighting it… Whoa! I thought Turn 12 was easy? Not right now if you’re Oscar Piastri! You could just hear the car sparking out.

“That was ground-effect style! And in the end, he has a big moment as the car bottoms out over the bumps. That was a feature of the last generation of cars. It’s the first time we’ve seen it with this year’s cars. A big save for Oscar.”

Jolyon Palmer referenced Fernando Alonso claiming he takes Turn 15 ‘50km/h’ slower than in 2025

Palmer was referencing claims made by Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso after the first few days of the opening pre-season test in Bahrain last week. Alonso suggested even Aston Martin’s chef can take Bahrain’s Turn 12 like an F1 driver due to the new set of regulations.

The Bahrain test has been a rather sombre affair for Aston Martin, who have continually had issues with their new Honda engine, their first in-house gearbox design and a generally slow car. But Alonso questioned the regulations after going “50km/h (31mph) slower” at Turn 12.

Drivers are needing to back off the throttle, use high revs in low gears and avoid using any of their electrical energy in various turns so that they do not run out of electrical power on the straights. But Piastri still struggled to keep his McLaren under control into T12 this Thursday.