Formula 1’s new straight mode will be used in five parts of the track at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Enhanced active aerodynamics are a key feature on the new 2026 cars with the front and rear wings both moving to reduce drag on straights. 

Unlike the previous drag reduction system, which was also limited to just the rear wing, it will not be an overtaking aid and is instead designed to help improve the car’s efficiency on the straights to help demand less from the engine. 

In forming the rules to control the active aero there has been a lot of debate over where to set the zones that the wings can be in straight mode - when drag is minimised.

It was expected that there would be more ‘SM’ zones than with the DRS because of the function the active aero serves, and the track does not have to be completely straight.

There was some uncertainty over how much lateral load would be considered too risky, though, and also how to judge when to begin the SM zone - mainly when the cars are not traction-limited. 

For Melbourne, the four old DRS zones on the start-finish straight, the run from the first chicane to Turn 3, the kinked run from Turn 6 through to the Turn 9-10 esses and then the long straight from there down to Turn 11 will all be SM zones. 

Added to that is a short zone in the second half of the burst under the trees from Turn 5 to the fast Turn 6 right-hand. The zones in the middle of the lap will also begin slightly earlier than the old DRS zones did. 

The FIA has also confirmed that the detection point for the new overtake engine mode will be just after the penultimate corner and it can be activated just before the final corner. 

This will allow a driver to charge and deploy 0.5MJ more energy to run at maximum power for slightly longer, although its benefit was played down at pre-season testing.