Active aerodynamics
Active aerodynamics means the wings on an F1 car change shape while it's driving. From 2026, the flaps on both the front wing and the rear wing can move between two positions. Closed, they give the car plenty of downforce for the corners. Open, they cut drag so the car goes faster on the straights.
The two settings are called Corner Mode and Straight Mode. During development they were known as Z-mode and X-mode, and you'll still see those names in older articles.
Corner Mode and Straight Mode
Corner Mode is the default. The wing flaps are closed, so they work like a normal wing and push the car into the track. This is what the car uses through corners, under braking and anywhere outside a Straight Mode zone.
Straight Mode opens the flaps on both wings, a bit like tilting the slats of a Venetian blind. With less wing in the airflow, the car makes less downforce and much less drag, so it accelerates harder and reaches a higher top speed.
The front and rear wings move together so the car stays balanced. If only the rear wing opened, the car would suddenly have far more grip at the front than the back.
Where drivers can use it
The FIA marks out Straight Mode zones at each circuit, usually on the longer straights and fast, flat-out sections. Albert Park in Melbourne had five of them at the first race of 2026.
Inside a zone, the driver opens the wings with a button on the steering wheel. The flaps go back to Corner Mode automatically when the driver brakes, or at the end of the zone. Race control can remove or shorten zones during a weekend if they cause problems.
The important difference from the old DRS system is that every car can use Straight Mode on every lap, in practice, qualifying and the race. It doesn't depend on being close to another car. That's because its purpose is efficiency. The 2026 cars rely heavily on electric power, and cutting drag on the straights means the battery and fuel go further.
The overtaking aid that replaced DRS is a separate thing called overtake mode.
Partial mode in the wet
In wet conditions race control can enable a partial setting, where only the front wing opens on the straights and the rear wing stays in Corner Mode. That keeps more grip at the back of the car, where a sudden loss of downforce on a wet track could make it spin.
Why F1 moved to moving wings
Every racing car has to compromise between downforce and drag. A big wing helps in the corners but slows you down on the straights. Teams used to pick a level that suited each track and live with it.
The 2026 cars have about 30% less downforce and around 55% less drag than the cars they replaced, according to the FIA's targets. Being able to open the wings on the straights makes the cars much more efficient, which matters when nearly half the power comes from a battery that has a limited amount of energy each lap.
There's more on how wings and floors create grip on the downforce and aerodynamics page.