Why drivers fear post-Japan crunch FIA meetings on F1 rule changes won't work

Formula 1 and its governing body, the FIA, is set to evaluate changes to the 2026 regulations after the Japanese Grand Prix, but drivers have expressed concerns over why these won’t work.

The new regulations cycle has been met with backlash from drivers and fans, largely around the new power units, with the near-50/50 split between internal combustion and electrical power leading to extreme cases of energy management.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has been the most critical of the new rules, likening racing in 2026 to Mario Kart, while Fernando Alonso remarked that it is now a “battery championship”.

The FIA was due to evaluate any potential regulation changes after the Chinese Grand Prix, but elected against any major tweaks as battery management proved less of a factor in Shanghai compared to the season-opener in Melbourne.

A small concession was made for Japan, with the energy harvesting limit reduced from 9MJ to 8MJ in a bid to reduce the amount of ‘superclipping’ that would impact qualifying laps.

However, the qualifying spectacle was still subdued at Suzuka, with a number of drivers unhappy with what they were experiencing in their cars.

War-enforced break opens door for Miami rule changes

The enforced break in April due to the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian races being cancelled as a result of the war in the Gulf will allow for crucial meetings between F1, the FIA and teams to discuss further rule changes that could be implemented for the Miami Grand Prix in May.

But drivers have expressed numerous fears about these meetings actually achieving what they hope.

“I’m not expecting much from it, but I hope they make some good changes,” Lewis Hamilton said on Saturday in Japan. “Only just on performance, we’re hugely down to the Mercedes engine, and what that is, we don’t know.  Whether it’s just that they have a bigger turbo, or just more power, or something else, we’ll find out. We just have to work harder to close the gap.”

Asked why he doesn’t anticipate much change, the Ferrari driver added: “It’s just there will be a lot of chefs in the kitchen. Normally, that doesn’t end up with a good result.”

Hamilton’s ‘too many cooks’ fear is a pertinent one. Any regulation change always becomes a political battleground. And, understandably, Mercedes stands to lose the most out of any significant changes given the advantage it has with its power unit.

George Russell accused Ferrari of having “selfish” intent behind blocking any major changes to the start procedures, following safety fears raised after the first race in Australia. Ferrari kicked back by noting that it raised the same fears last year and was told by the FIA to develop a power unit to the regulations to combat this. And that’s exactly what it did.

Williams driver Carlos Sainz echoed Hamilton’s concerns. He believes the FIA’s current proposals are good, but is “worried” that they will be shot down by some teams.

“We were listening to the teams and the FIA yesterday, Nikolas [Tombazis], they seem to be pushing, have a plan in mind. I’m a bit worried the teams will push back, some teams will be against changing it too much because they have other interests. But I think we’ve made it very clear from the drivers that it needs to get better and hopefully the FIA listens more to the drivers than the teams.”

While any rule changes and how they are received remain to be seen, and particularly how Mercedes will respond, team boss Toto Wolff (at least publicly) has come out in support of qualifying tweaks.

“If it were up to me, and we definitely need to look at this, how can we make that one fast, brutal qualifying lap again?,” he said in Japan. “How can we reduce the lift and coast. And that’s definitely something we need to do.”

Small changes “the right direction”, but fundamental fixes a long way off

What the FIA can actually change to fundamentally address the issue of harvesting and superclipping is limited by the current regulations. Any major changes will have to be eyed up for next year, if that is at all possible.

One suggestion is to potentially reduce the amount of harvesting allowed at all times, which would ultimately add more lap time to the cars. That will only further criticism of F1 no longer being about the fastest, most ruthless cars to drive that have been levelled already at the new cars.

But, for some drivers, small tweaks are better than nothing and all they want is for the driving experience to be a little bit more fun than it is currently. Overall, the chassis regulations have been a step in the right direction for F1, and small tweaks to the energy deployment to avoid superclipping in the form that has caused so much ire already will make a considerable difference.

“I think it would have been a lot worse if they didn’t make anything happen,” Charles Leclerc said.

So I think it’s going in the right direction. Whether another step is needed, or something else could make more of a difference is still to be seen. In the gap from here to Miami there will be a lot of brainstorming, not only from the FIA but also the teams, sending propositions trying to make those rules better in qualifying.

“I actually think in the race it’s a pretty good car and it doesn’t change much to last year’s car. We know in the battle with the battery it’s clear, but in driving style it doesn’t change much. In qualifying it’s just a bit frustrating at the moment.”

Max Verstappen added: “Well, it depends on what they decide for next year. This year, they are trying their best, but it’s also political, which I fully understand from other manufacturers. Rightly so, I’m not bitter about that or anything.

“It’s also not about me being in the position that I am in P7 to P11, 12. I just hope that it will be a little bit more fun to drive, as you know. But for this year, it will be tiny little changes that won’t make a big difference. I just hope that the changes are big enough for next year.”