The 2026 regulations are not unanimous, far from it. Far from the celebrations of the FIA and Formula 1 on Thursday, when presenting all the changes which will be applied in two years, the drivers and teams are already expressing several reasons for concern. On Friday, during the press conference on the sidelines of the Canadian Grand Prix, several Team Principals raised several issues and several fears regarding F1 2026.
F1 2026 too slow in corners?
According to them, future single-seaters will not offer the performance expected by the FIA and should, on the contrary, be much slower than the current generation due to the reduction in overall aerodynamic downforce of around 30%. “I would say that at the moment, in the draft regulations – and we have to talk about draft because, as we said, there is a lot of work to be done – the cars are not fast enough in the corners and too fast on the straights. We must therefore rebalance these two aspects”explains Andrea Stella, McLaren team principal.
Like the drivers who fear too great a difference between speeds in corners and in a straight line – a phenomenon already observed in the simulator – the Team Principals regret a 2026 regulation that is not balanced enough, which could make future Formula 1 cars slower than Super Formula, IndyCar… and barely faster than Formula 2!
“It is imperative that we continue to be the premier category of motorsport. We are the pinnacle of motorsport, recalls James Vowles, boss of the Williams team. Therefore, we need to make sure that we maintain the performance and speed that we have. The difference in performance with a Formula 2 car could be in the order of a few seconds. And it’s starting to get a little tight, especially if you compare it to other championships around the world. But also, as Andrea mentioned, this is a draft regulation. (…) We still need a little work. »
Seven problems raised by the teams
In total, the four team principals present at the press conference on Friday targeted seven areas in which the F1 2026 regulations pose a problem: the reduction of the unachievable weight (- 30 kg in 2026), the use of the power unit (50% of the power from electrical energy), the variability of power on different routes, the complexity of the new regulations, the limits imposed on the design and therefore, the balance between speeds in turns / straight lines and of the supposedly too slow pace of F1 2026.
In Canada, team bosses should meet to express their fears to the FIA with a view to possible modifications to the F1 2026 regulations. Presented on Thursday, this may still be subject to changes: the date of the next World Motor Sport Council, namely June 28, has been set for the ratification of the 2026 technical regulations. The deadline imposed by the International Sporting Code is June 30.
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