Question of the week: What does Formula 1 need to change – if anything?

(Motorsport-Total.com) – As always, changes cause discussion. And although Formula 1 has already gone through many regulation changes, the intensity of the reactions in 2026 is different. The new rules have led the sport into unknown territory in many areas and triggered strong reactions from drivers, fans, and officials.

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Opinions are split as ever, but it is clear that adjustments might be necessary. The only question is: What needs to be addressed immediately and what can wait?

Our international panel of experts consisting of journalists gives their assessments.

Finally full attack in qualifying again
Roberto Chinchero, Motorsport.com Italy:

There is little doubt that the current regulations need intervention. The new 2026 power units are technical masterpieces, but conceptual weaknesses have emerged that are hardly compatible with the essence of motorsport.

The main problem – and by far the most important – concerns qualifying. In the sessions so far, it has become abundantly clear how frustrated the drivers are about being forced into lift-and-coast at the most critical moment of the weekend. This has never happened in any racing series before.

A qualifying round is the absolute peak of performance – a moment where there should be no room for tactics or management. Everything must be geared towards pure speed. That is the core of motorsport.

How can this be solved in the short term? There are no miracles in Formula 1. Therefore, the only feasible solution in the short term is to throttle the electrical power in qualifying. Whether the lap times are then three or four seconds slower is secondary. What matters is that the drivers can push fully again – an instinct that no regulation should suppress.

Everything else has a lower priority for now. Energy management strategies will align over time anyway and compensate for the frustrating “yo-yo effect”. At the same time, it is right to examine all options for 2027. But qualifying cannot wait.

Are we saying goodbye to the mythical 50/50 split?
Filip Cleeren, Motorsport.com Global:

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella warned about the extreme speed differences and unpredictable starts even before the season. On the first point, he was obviously right. The teams seem to have the starts under control by now, also thanks to a small rule adjustment by the FIA, without punishing the manufacturers who opted for a smaller turbo (like Ferrari).

For me, this is a good example of a measured course correction without punishing those who interpreted the rules correctly.

This approach should also be chosen for the speed differences that came to light so ugly in Oliver Bearman’s crash in Japan. It is strange that so little was said about it before the accident – originally, the April meetings were only supposed to fix qualifying.

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I believe both problems can be solved in one fell swoop: by raising the super-clipping limit from 250 kW to 350 kW, as Stella already suggested in Bahrain, and simultaneously lowering the total allowed electrical energy per lap.

Yes, that means we are moving even further away from the original 50/50 split (combustion to electric). But honestly: who cares? The cars would be slightly slower on the straights and in overall time, but the spectacle would be better, more authentic, and above all safer.

In the long term, control must be placed back into the hands of the drivers rather than the algorithms, but that would be a start – hopefully before Miami.

Safety must come first
Federico Faturos, Motorsport.com Latin America:

Formula 1 must get rid of the problem of massive speed differences. The danger is no longer hypothetical, but very real.

Driver safety is almost taken for granted today, considering the progress in cars and tracks. That is exactly why the image of Oliver Bearman climbing out of his wreck limping and visibly in pain should be a wake-up call.

Of course, fans focus on the new racing features – artificial overtaking, super-clipping, lift-and-coast, and of course qualifying. But safety must be the absolute priority in all rule changes.

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The speed difference between the cars must urgently be at the top of the agenda for the April meetings. Formula 1 was lucky in Suzuka during the incident between Bearman and Franco Colapinto.

In addition, one now paradoxically benefits from the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian GP, because the ultra-fast street circuit in Jeddah with its blind corners and lack of run-off zones would have been extremely dangerous after the experiences in Japan.

The FIA has options on the table. If the issue of speed difference is addressed, other problems of the new regulations might also be solved. Situations where cars meet with a difference of 45 km/h must no longer occur.

We should become more analog again
Heiko Stritzke, Motorsport-Total.com:

First and foremost, Formula 1 must realize that excitement is not created by the number of overtaking maneuvers, but by the quality of the duels. Artificial aids like DRS or super-clipping cannot replace the excitement of a real, hard fight.

Just look at the duel between Christopher Haase and Max Verstappen at the NLS race in March on the Nordschleife. There were only two real overtaking maneuvers, but the lap-long wheel-to-wheel duel was more phenomenal than any DRS maneuver on a straight.

Technically speaking, we should become more analog again. A bold step would be to trim the wings to the size of the ChampCar oval kits from the 90s. At the same time, the engines should be let off the leash – with a power output between 1.200 and 1.500 hp.

If strict rules for fuel flow are maintained, displacement and cylinder restrictions could actually be removed. The minimum weight of the engine would have to be chosen so that 12-cylinders remain competitive. Part of the power could still come from the battery, but the delivery must occur in a way that acceleration on the straight remains natural.

This requires tires that can withstand the massive wheelspin with so much power. This combination of brute force and less downforce would put the drivers’ skills back into extreme focus.

Optional: To challenge the driver even more, the “silent overtaking killer” that no one talks about could be banned: the semi-automatic gearbox. Until the late 80s, many overtaking opportunities arose from missed gears.

With modern electronics, the engines could be protected from over-revving, but the shifting process – and thus the potential for error – could be put back into the cockpit.

Less aerodynamic dependence, more mechanical grip, and raw power: this is how Formula 1 becomes a real test for the best of the best again.

We need a plan for short, medium, and long term
Khaldoun Younes, Motorsport.com Middle East

To answer this question, one needs not only knowledge of the sporting regulations but a deep technical understanding of the 2026 rules, which seem to have opened Pandora’s box.

It can be assumed that the FIA is working behind the scenes with the teams on a solution package. It takes the cooperation of many minds to develop a flexible plan for the short, medium, and long term.

Here is the sticking point: how quickly can changes be implemented that are feasible for the teams, the championship, and the fans?

This is particularly important because the teams have been tuning their cars to these regulations for a long time. Any change must be implementable without wasting resources, which are already scarce under the budget cap.

Many proposals focus on the electrical part: lowering the energy limit (currently 9 MJ) or increasing the combustion share beyond 50 percent. The goal seems to be to reduce the massive influence of electrical power to at least get rid of super-clipping.

A proposal by former engineer Toni Cuquerella, who worked for teams like HRT, Super Aguri, and Sauber, has recently gained a lot of support. He showed in a study that even small adjustments to the engine parameters could solve many of the current problems.

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