Overview
- All 10 teams are conducting a post-season mule-car test at Yas Marina to approximate 2026 performance with lower-downforce setups and narrower tyres.
- To balance tyre loads without true active aero, mule cars run Monza-spec wings, a roughly 300 km/h straight-line limit, and expanded DRS use across four zones.
- Mercedes debuted a visible prototype movable front wing on its mule car, with Ferrari also fielding an actuation system that has previously run in private testing.
- Cars fitted with the experimental front-wing systems are exempt from the straight-line speed cap, allowing teams and Pirelli to compare load and drag effects more realistically.
- Pirelli’s compounds for 2026 are already signed off, and data from Abu Dhabi will inform which tyres are nominated for each race ahead of the Spain shakedown on January 26, Bahrain tests in February, and the March 8 opener in Melbourne.