SAKHIR, Bahrain — Formula 1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali has warned against “panicking” about the new cars introduced for 2026, but said the sport will take action if rule tweaks are required.
F1 has overhauled its car and engine designs for the 2026 season, placing a greater emphasis on energy management due to the increased electrification of the engines that require some style adjustments from drivers behind the wheel.
This includes going slower through some corners than with the previous cars due to a need to charge the battery on the cars, which now have a 50/50 split between the engine and its hybrid system.
The new cars faced heavy criticism last week from four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen, who said the rules were not fun, “anti-racing” and it was “like Formula E on steroids.”
F1’s preseason test running in Bahrain over the past two weeks has given teams and drivers the opportunity to better understand the new cars and their processes, as well as prompting discussions about the new rules.
All 11 teams, F1 and its governing body, the FIA, met earlier this week for its regular commission meeting, where they discussed possible rule tweaks relating to energy usage to potentially aid overtaking amid some concerns being raised about the on-track spectacle.
Max Verstappen has been critical of the new cars (Giuseppe Cacace / AFP via Getty Images)
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Domenicali urged caution in jumping to conclusions about the new cars, which will race together for the first time in the Australian Grand Prix on Mar. 8.
“I don’t understand what is all (the) panicking going around, because there will be an incredible racing,” Domenicali said.
“There will be a lot of action and that’s the most important thing. Prudency is always part of my style and it’s always great to go back and listen to what we said two days before, because you will see that with facts things could be different.
“And in any case, if something is not as we would (want), I think that the credibility of the sport is we can sit around with the responsible people the technical people and the FIA to find solutions.
“So I’m not worried at all.”
Domenicali has met with all F1 drivers while in Bahrain this week in order to understand any concerns they may have about the new cars. He said the conversation with Verstappen was “very constructive” and that the Dutchman was also set to meet with the FIA.
“We know that Max will be part of the future of Formula 1,” Domenicali said. “Of course it’s very important that we listen to him and as we listen to all the top drivers that are very important in this sport.”
Domenicali said that although he wanted to “avoid overreaction” with the new cars, the sport’s stakeholders would work together to consider alterations if required in the interests of the on-track spectacle.
“For me, what has to be protected — and if this will not be the case, we need to intervene — is having great racing, great overtaking opportunities, great challenges that you can give to the drivers to show if they are the best,” Domenicali said.
“So, if these points will not be taken the right way, of course, we need to in a way intervene and react immediately. All the other things are part of the nature of development of what is happening in Formula 1, in my opinion.”
Domenicali presenting one of the new cars (Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images)
Last week, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella suggested that a handful of small tweaks could help improve the on-track spectacle, relating to the energy usage by the engines which could make overtaking easier.
On Thursday, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc said he expected overtaking to be a challenge this year due to the energy demands on the cars, which have a new Boost mode to help make passing moves.
Question marks have also been raised for the season-opener in Australia, given the circuit’s long, flat-out sections are likely to make it one of the toughest of the season for energy harvesting.
But Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater director and one of the key architects of F1’s new ruleset, suggested it may be difficult to push through any changes before that race, and echoed Domenicali’s message of patience.
“I think realistically (before) Australia (it) would be very difficult to have any change, and I also don’t think there’s really a cause to knee-jerk,” Tombazis told reporters in Bahrain on Thursday.
“We want to be discussing these things with the stakeholders. We don’t want to be stepping in and doing things. We don’t think the patient has got any serious condition. We think we’ve got fundamentally a good product, but we want to get all the feedback properly and to analyze it.
“The game is long, it’s not one race or two races.”