Starting next year, the FIA will require Formula 1 teams to incorporate more color into their liveries. Over the past few years, fans have increasingly criticized the color schemes. Many teams, in an effort to save weight, opted for bare carbon fiber, resulting in predominantly black cars. This made the field appear monotonous compared to previous years. A new rule from the FIA aims to prevent this.
The FIA’s Formula 1 Commission adopted new rules on Friday designed to bring more color into the sport. When the participating teams unveiled their cars earlier this year, the predominantly black details were noticeable; more and more designers were choosing a limited number of decals to save weight. The new rule for 2026 requires that at least fifty-five percent of the surface of all cars, viewed from the side or from above, must be covered with paint or decals.
“The aim of this measure is to increase the visual differentiation between cars,” said the commission. The organization fears that teams will revert to bare carbon fiber next year when the new technical regulations come into effect. The current Formula 1 grid is in stark contrast to the colorful cars of, for example, the nineties.
The new rules regarding color are not the only changes the FIA wants to implement. The commission also agreed to the proposal that drivers may change their race number during their career. Some drivers are stuck with a certain number, sometimes reluctantly chosen because their preferred number was not immediately available. The FIA announced that next month a ‘number of refinements’ to the technical, sporting, financial, and operational regulations for 2026 will be submitted.
