Earlier this week the FIA, Formula 1 and the 11 teams agreed to push changes to the 2026 power‑unit, battery and energy‑management regulations ahead of the Miami Grand Prix to address safety, performance and qualifying issues. The decision followed a high-speed crash in Japan that intensified safety concerns after Haas driver Oliver Bearman was involved. A high-level meeting on Monday was followed by an electronic vote and an F1 Commission decision. F1 chief Stefano Domenicali and Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane supported the effort; they said tweaks could be introduced at Miami, but officials stressed changes will be iterative rather than a single overhaul.

Teams and regulators blamed the problems on the new 2026 package, which shifts power‑unit output toward a near 50-50 split between the internal combustion engine (ICE) and a much larger hybrid element, introduces lift-and-coast energy management and active aerodynamics, and mandates advanced sustainable fuels. Those measures increased overtaking but forced drivers to back off in the fastest corners to recharge batteries several times per lap, diluting qualifying and creating dangerous speed differentials. Permane highlighted excessive harvesting and “super-clipping” that left cars running out of battery on straights. Teams also warned that the Sprint format and the Monaco schedule leave little opportunity to trial complex fixes.

Proposals under consideration include raising the super-clipping charge rate from 250 kW to 350 kW, cutting peak electrical deployment from about 350 kW to near 200 kW, and reducing the battery’s permitted energy store. A more extreme option, supported by Red Bull, would increase ICE fuel flow. Regulators and teams acknowledged that battery- and deployment-focused fixes would mitigate symptoms but would not fully eliminate the yo-yo pass-and-repass effect; only a meaningful increase in ICE power would address the root cause, but that carries short-term technical, competitive and logistical complications and is therefore unlikely this season. Permane and FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis signaled a possible staged rollout across races, with simpler measures likely at Miami and more extensive testing planned in Montreal and Barcelona.

Sources