The front wing of a Formula 1 car is one of the most important aerodynamic components in design development. Particularly, as it is the first to interact with the upcoming airflow, the aerodynamic flow structures generated will have a strong interaction with the remainder of the car’s components. In 2026, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile will introduce new regulations that incorporate new aerodynamic philosophies for the front wing, including active aerodynamics. This paper presents a design methodology study for the development of a Formula 1 2026 front wing, compliant with Issue 9 of the technical regulations. A computational-based, structured optimisation series was conducted to enhance the aerodynamic performance of a front wing concept with a focus on improving downforce, maximising efficiency, and enhancing trailing flow for the remainder of the car. The final front wing concept at 40%, running at 30 m/s, generated 189 N of downforce and 19 N of drag. Active aerodynamics, aiming to reduce drag on high-speed straights, reduced downforce and drag by 64% and 62%, respectively. For paper novelty, a 40% scale low-cost wind tunnel model of the 2026 Formula 1 front wing was designed and assembled to test, which confirmed the computational results. The experimental campaign included an X-Mode sweep to gather load data for various flap deployment angles, a wake mapping analysis, tufting to reveal flow behaviours, and flow visualisation paint to map out regions of flow separation. Wind tunnel testing was used to validate the computational results, achieving a 5.1% error in downforce, a 13.3% error in drag, and an in-depth correlation in wake characteristics, vortex shedding, and flow-visualisation methods. Therefore, this paper intends to contribute to the technical literature through an aerodynamic investigation of the 2026 Formula 1 front wings’ aerodynamic philosophies before the implementation season, also sharing wind tunnel results to support further computational developments.