The 2026 Formula 1 regulations have restored design freedom for wheels, bringing them back as fully performance-oriented components. Each team has now turned to dedicated suppliers, reviving historic collaborations—most notably McLaren’s reunion with Enkei, which had supplied the Woking team continuously from 1995 until 2021.
One of the areas where the 2026 rules grant engineers more freedom is wheel design. Wheels are now once again a key tool for managing thermal behavior around the tires—a factor highlighted by Pirelli’s Mario Isola after the Bahrain tests.
“Teams have been able to design their own wheels, and we know from past experience how crucial heat transfer between brake and wheel was, especially with 13-inch wheels, to keep the tires at the desired temperature and pressure,” Isola explained. “In some cases, bringing heat to the tire helped with warmup on cold or low-severity tracks. In other cases, cooling the tire provided the advantage of running lower pressures.”
Until last year, this type of customization was not possible. With the introduction of ground-effect cars, the FIA had mandated standardized wheels for all teams, supplied by BBS. On top of that, wheel covers were added—identical for all teams—to reduce aerodynamic drag.
However, the 2026 regulations have reopened the door for specialized collaborations, sometimes even reviving historic partnerships tailored to each team’s needs. Ferrari, for instance, has returned to BBS, a supplier it worked with from 1992 before switching to OZ, while McLaren has reunited with Enkei.
The McLaren-Enkei partnership is truly historic, dating back to 1995. Until the FIA imposed standard wheels at the end of 2021, Enkei was McLaren’s official wheel supplier for 26 uninterrupted seasons. Now, the Japanese manufacturer’s wheels are set to return on the MCL40.
The new wheels are once again a major development focus for teams, not just for tire interaction, but also for critical aspects such as unsprung mass management, structural stiffness, and steering response. In 2024, for example, BBS had to modify the standardized wheels to improve their strength and prevent deformation, which in some cases had led to tires loosening and detaching on track.
In a context where every gram and every tiny material flex can make a difference, the ability to produce a wheel that is both strong and tailored to the team’s specific requirements is essential. This is why every team now works with specialized partners for magnesium wheel manufacturing, ensuring performance and reliability under the extreme demands of Formula 1.
As McLaren and Enkei join forces once again, the return of bespoke wheel design signals a broader trend in the 2026 era: the return of specialized engineering in the quest for marginal gains. With tire temperature management often being the difference between a podium and a point-less finish, this “historic” reunion could prove to be one of McLaren’s smartest technical moves of the decade.
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