(Motorsport-Total.com) – Smaller changes to the Formula 1 regulations are to be decided today, Monday. After the first three races of the new era, FIA, Formula 1 and Co. have taken stock and discussed in recent weeks which adjustments to the completely new rules are still necessary.
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“I really have to say that the discussions between the drivers, the FIA, Formula 1 and the teams have been constructive,” reveals Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff in this context, making it clear: “We all pursue the same goals.”
He wants to “improve the product” and at the same time see “what we can optimize in terms of safety,” says the Austrian, who emphasizes: “However, we should proceed with a scalpel and not with a baseball bat.”
This means: Nobody should expect far-reaching changes to the regulations. “I believe we will find good solutions, which we will hopefully adopt today, to continue to develop,” says Wolff, who reminds that “only three races” have been completed under the new regulations.
“In a way, we have to learn from the past, where decisions were sometimes made without due consideration, we then went too far and realized that it wasn’t good,” explains the Mercedes team boss.
Wolff: We shouldn’t badmouth our sport
Among other things, several drivers complained at the start of the 2026 season that they could no longer go full throttle in qualifying and had to constantly monitor the battery. In addition, after Oliver Bearman’s accident in Suzuka, the question arose whether the new rules lead to dangerous situations.
Another point of criticism in the first races was the overtaking maneuvers, which some observers found too artificial. Max Verstappen also stated that this was not real racing for him. “We all have our opinions, and that is completely legitimate,” Wolff clarifies in this context.
“But these opinions and discussions should take place among those involved rather than in public, because the sport is in excellent shape. We have many hundreds of thousands of fans who love this sport,” emphasizes the Austrian.
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“There are others who don’t like certain aspects of the sport. But to preserve all the enormous opportunities that this sport offers us, we should not publicly badmouth our own sport,” demands Wolff.
“All of us – the drivers, the FIA, Formula 1 and the teams – must be aware of our responsibility as guardians of this sport. And we must appreciate what this sport has done for us, and work constructively together to make improvements where necessary and protect it when required,” says Wolff.
Wolff: A boring product is also useless
“We are guided by data,” he emphasizes, explaining that the crucial question ultimately is: “What do fans love and what don’t they? And we also respect the hardcore motorsport fans who liked what we had before.”
“But there is also a certain nostalgia that makes the past seem much better than the present. People rave about the 2000s and perhaps forget that there were years when there wasn’t a single overtaking maneuver in a race,” explains Wolff.
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“For the drivers, that might have been great because they could go full throttle in the corners. But if this product is boring for the spectators, then we haven’t gained anything. And we had many years where the product was criticized and we acted thoughtlessly with changes – and those weren’t better either.”
In addition, teams often demanded or blocked certain rule changes in the past out of self-interest and “for tactical reasons.” According to Wolff, this should no longer be the case in the future. “We bear responsibility for the sport,” he emphasizes once again.
Therefore, the sport must also be in the foreground and not the question of “whether certain rule changes are personally advantageous or disadvantageous for us.”
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