F1's 'three second rule' prompts FIA to make major Monaco Grand Prix change

The FIA has chosen not to use one of the new innovations created for this 2026 generation of Formula 1 cars at the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix. Next weekend, one of the sport's oldest and most glamorous events will return with qualifying day in particular always a spectacle as drivers push their cars to the limit around the streets of Monte Carlo.

But they will do so without the new active aero system in operation. It was created as part of this new ruleset, allowing teams to design moving parts on their front and rear wings to change the level of downforce on their car depending on whether they are driving along a straight or negotiating a corner.

At the five Grands Prix held so far this season, drivers have been able to flatten their wings on straights to reduce the amount of drag affecting their cars, increasing speed and acceleration, and change them back in corners to increase downforce and the amount of grip they have in order to negotiate the turn as quickly as they can.

But that won't be happening in Monaco as the track map for the 2026 race shows no straight mode zones. It means drivers will not be able to flatten the wings on their cars at all during the race, and so active aero won't be in use.

Part of the logic behind the FIA's decision is believe to be the 'three second rule' that the governing body has put in place when deciding where to place 'straight zones' on F1 circuits this year. They want to make sure that such zones last for more than three seconds so that drivers actually get a noteable performance benefit out of using the active aero, rather than further complicating their jobs for negligible reward.

Safety is also a factor as a 'straight zone' needs to be safe for drivers both in qualifying and the race, the latter of which often throws up scenarios where cars are on tyres which are expiring and low on grip. With no margin for error on the tight Monaco streets, reducing downforce in some areas could increase the risk of a loss of control at high speed - particularly if the result was cars arriving at corners at higher speed than usual at the end of a zone.

The Drag Reduction System (DRS) that featured on the last generation of cars was always used in Monaco in dry conditions, with the one DRS zone being found on the relatively short start-finish straight.

That system is no longer in use but its replacement, Overtake Mode, will continue to feature in Monaco, unlike the active aero.

So drivers will continue to be able to more quickly harvest energy over the course of a lap if they are less than one second behind another car when they hit the activation zone on the circuit. That will be found before the final corner of the Monte Carlo street circuit, so watch out for drivers making sure they don't overtake too early before they hit that zone so that they get an elextrical energy boost for the following lap.