Mar.25 (GMM) Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has acknowledged that changes to the controversial 2026 regulations may be needed – but insists any adjustments must be made “in a constructive way”.
Amid ongoing criticism from drivers including Max Verstappen, Domenicali made clear the door is not closed to refinements.
“What I’ve told him is to evaluate what truly motivates him,” Domenicali told SportMediaset when asked about the quadruple world champion.
“Because if there’s something that needs to be changed in the regulations, it has to be done in a constructive way. That’s the right approach.”
At the same time, he pointed out that the new rules could still naturally close the competitive gap.
“Absolutely yes,” Domenicali said when asked if other teams can catch up with Mercedes.
“Given how these regulations are structured, I believe the possibility for other teams to recover could come more quickly than what we’ve seen in previous years.”
While no major overhaul is expected during the season, attention is increasingly turning to potential tweaks – particularly in qualifying.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has already hinted at that direction.
“What we might still be able to refine is the qualifying format, where we should reduce the energy management a bit,” he told Osterreich.
“That’s something we’re working on.”
Behind the scenes, discussions are already underway about more significant longer-term changes.
Ralf Schumacher says he has heard plans are being considered for next year to alter the balance between electric and combustion power.
“I’ve heard that there are plans in the works for something significant to change next year,” he told f1-insider.com.
Ideally, he suggested, the sport could move closer to a different split between electric and combustion power. “Perhaps towards 70-30,” said the German.
For Schumacher, the core issue is how much the current system affects driving. “We want to see the fastest racing driver, not the best electrical engineer,” he said.
He pointed to visible anomalies under the current rules.
“When the camera switches to the steering wheel and at the end of the straight the car suddenly loses 40 or 50 kmh even though the driver is accelerating hard, then you can see that there is a problem.”
Drivers are also entering corners significantly slower than before, he added.
“They are rolling into the corners about 20 to 30 kmh slower. It’s like night and day,” Schumacher said.
According to him, this particularly frustrates top drivers. “Classy drivers like Max can’t exploit their advantages, and that frustrates them.”
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