While Alpine might be struggling near the tail end of the constructors’ championship and regretting its sluggish commencement to the Formula 1 season this year, the team stands a chance to experience a revitalization as F1 has recently adjusted its regulations surrounding aerodynamic assessments for the latter portion of 2025.
In an effort dedicated to creating a more equitable environment, F1 implemented a variable arrangement that modulates the extent of aerodynamic evaluations teams are permitted to undertake, according to their standing in the championship. This arrangement is recalibrated twice each year, resulting in testing privileges being curtailed for certain teams, while others receive a boost to facilitate advancements.
The sliding scale for assessments was initially brought in by F1 in 2021, where the ATR diminishes the championship-leading team’s assessment duration by 25%, while the team occupying the bottom position in the standings benefits from a 15% augmentation. The fundamental allowance empowers teams to execute 320 wind tunnel trials and 2,000 CFD assessments throughout a two-month timeframe.
The quantity of assessments teams can perform might prove particularly consequential in the upcoming six months, as the series gears up for an innovative set of guidelines anticipated to redefine F1 in 2026.
Therefore, as we approach the introduction of the groundbreaking novel aerodynamic and technical stipulations expected next year, we present a breakdown of the current assessment allowances held by teams, with all allowances determined by the championship order leading up to the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix.
Loser: Williams
Carlos Sainz, Williams
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Williams concluded the 2024 F1 season in ninth position, accumulating a mere 17 points; however, the Grove-based team has already surpassed that milestone and acquired 55 points prior to the Austrian GP. Despite this rise from ninth to fifth place in the constructors’ standings, it is accompanied by a considerable reduction in assessment allowances.
For the remainder of the 2025 season, Williams will possess 90% of the assessment allowance, which translates to 288 wind tunnel simulations and 1,800 CFD assessments. This adjustment signifies the most substantial decrease for any team, as the British team was previously authorized to conduct 352 wind tunnel assessments.
Winner: Alpine
Alpine is hopeful that the increased aerodynamic assessment opportunities will enable them to reverse their course in 2025, particularly since the French team held the 10th and final position in the F1 standings leading up to the Austrian race. Due to its dramatic decline from 2024, during which it finished sixth, Alpine will receive 115% of the assessment allowance. Consequently, they will have the capacity to perform 368 wind tunnel runs and have 92 hours of wind-on duration.
CFD assessment capabilities will also expand to 2,300 items, an increase from the 1,900 items the team was able to utilize during the first half of the year. The team must now determine whether to utilize this additional assessment time to salvage their 2025 season or to concentrate all resources on the new 2026 race vehicle.
Loser: Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Photo by: Erik Junius
Mercedes endured a challenging period during F1’s ground-effect era, which resulted in significant assessment hours as they sought to improve their performance. These supplementary assessments evidently assisted the team, enabling them to ascend to second place in the standings preceding F1’s Austrian Grand Prix.
However, this advancement substantially impacts their allowance for the remainder of the season, restricting the Silver Arrows to only 75% of the assessment time allotted to other teams, thereby requiring them to maximize each assessment opportunity.
The team is granted 60 hours of wind-on time in their tunnel—a decrease of eight hours from the allowance provided during the first half of the season.
Winner: Aston Martin
Aston Martin, a customer team of Mercedes, is also poised to benefit from its misfortunes over the coming months. Due to the challenges encountered by its drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, Aston Martin slipped to eighth position in the F1 standings before the Austrian Grand Prix, contrasting with its commendable fifth-place finish in the 2025 season.
This implies that instead of receiving merely 90% of the assessment allowance, the British team will now receive 105% for the remainder of the season. Consequently, it will now possess 84 hours of wind-on time, an increase from 72 hours, and 336 wind tunnel simulations for the remainder of the season. With Adrian Newey joining the team, perhaps this duration is all that is required to transform the team’s prospects in advance of the introduction of the new regulations.
Little change across the board
Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images
For the remaining teams on the grid, adjustments to their assessment allowances are less pronounced. To begin with, McLaren retained its leading position in the standings from the conclusion of 2024 until the Austrian race this year, and presently exhibits no indications of weakening. This denotes that its assessment durations will remain unchanged at 75% of the allowance.
Red Bull and Ferrari both descended one position in the standings, ranking third and fourth respectively preceding the Austrian GP. This implies that they will each obtain an additional 16 wind tunnel simulations and 100 CFD assessments over the remaining three two-month assessment intervals this year.
In contrast, Racing Bulls and Sauber will each encounter a slight reduction in their assessment allowance. Occupying seventh place, Racing Bulls will receive 100% of the assessment allowance granted to teams, which equates to 80 hours of wind-on time. Meanwhile, Sauber advanced from 10th to ninth before the race at the Red Bull Ring, signifying that they will now receive 110% of the assessment allowance.
An unknown quantity
In addition to F1’s regulations, the series will also introduce its first new team since Haas entered the sport in 2016.
Cadillac will initially participate as a customer team in 2026 before initiating its engine program and evolving into a fully-fledged constructor by 2029.
However, Cadillac’s unfamiliar status in F1 does not entitle it to unrestricted access to aerodynamic testing. Instead, the team will be awarded the highest possible allowance prior to its debut in 2026, which currently provides 92 hours of wind-on time and the capability to execute tests on 2,300 CFD items—equivalent to the allowance provided to Alpine at the bottom of the standings.
The race start
Photo by: Kym Illman / Getty Images
Every F1 team’s testing allowance
| Position | Team | Multiplier | WT Runs (#) | Wind On Time (Hrs) | Wind Tunnel Occupancy (Hrs) | Geometries (#) | CFD Solving (MAuh) |
| 1 | McLaren | 70% | 224 | 56 | 280 | 1400 | 4.2 |
| 2 | Mercedes | 75% | 240 | 60 | 300 | 1500 | 4.5 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 80% | 256 | 64 | 320 | 1600 | 4.8 |
| 4 | Red Bull | 85% | 272 | 68 | 340 | 1700 | 5.1 |
| 5 | Williams | 90% | 288 | 72 | 360 | 1800 | 5.4 |
| 6 | Haas | 95% | 304 | 76 | 380 | 1900 | 5.7 |
| 7 | Racing Bulls | 100% | 320 | 80 | 400 | 2000 | 6.0 |
| 8 | Aston Martin | 105% | 336 | 84 | 420 | 2100 | 6.3 |
| 9 | Sauber | 110% | 352 | 88 | 440 | 2200 | 6.6 |
| 10 | Alpine | 115% | 368 | 92 |
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