
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has played down concerns that the upcoming regulation changes will result in much slower cars and decreased competition.
This season marks the last of the current regulations, with completely new technical rulebooks on the way for the F1 2026 championship.
Stefano Domenicali: Convergence will come
Formula 1’s engine rules change next season, following a four-year engine freeze. While the 1.6-litre V6 engine architecture remains, a focus on increased electrification, the introduction of sustainable fuels, and the removal of the MGU-H all make for a significant new engineering challenge for F1’s power unit manufacturers.
Added to this are the resulting chassis and aerodynamic rule changes, with active aerodynamics on the way to compensate for how the power units will output their energy down long straights.
It’s expected that the F1 cars next year will be a few seconds a lap slower than the current machines, while there is a risk that, due to the revolutionary rules, one team could figure them out more quickly than the rest and steal a march on them – leading to a period of dominance.
This was seen in the current regulations, with Ferrari and Red Bull clearly understanding the ground-effect rules better than the rest. While Ferrari’s performance was later neutralised by a technical directive aimed at kerbing the aerodynamic phenomenon known as ‘porpoising’, which manifested in severe bouncing down the straights, Red Bull duly went on a run of dominance that saw the team win all but one race in 2023.
But the stable regulations allowed for convergence, with as many as four teams competing for wins on any given weekend in 2024, with that close competition expected to continue this year.
The change in rules could well result in greater field spread, but F1 boss Stefano Domenicali isn’t concerned about the long-term effect the regulations change will have on the sport.
Speaking to Italy’s Autosprint, Domenicali said it’s possible a team or two might dominate at the very start of the rules cycle, but is confident of convergence happening quite quickly.
“When there is a new regulation it is always like that,” he said.
“I don’t forget that when the 2022 regulations were introduced, the teams were complaining that the single-seaters would be six seconds slower.
“We arrived in four years at a very strong convergence. Now we start again with a different regulation, with many new challenges and different things to fine-tune.
“At the beginning, we won’t have this kind of gap, it would be unrealistic to think that. But, the way the F1 2026 regulations are designed, the convergence will come.”
More on the F1 2026 rule changes
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The rules changes have tempted more manufacturers to come on board, with the Volkswagen Group joining via its Audi brand, which has just completed its full takeover of the Sauber team, while GM is set to arrive in 2026 with a brand-new Cadillac entry.
Honda will also return as a power unit manufacturer for the Aston Martin team, while Red Bull’s powertrain project partner has seen American giant Ford arrive.
Between these big names, and the likelihood of rapid convergence, Domenicali said he “isn’t worried” about the future of Formula 1.
“There are many themes that will develop,” he said.
“It is normal that, from the teams’ point of view, there is a conservative approach.
“Several new constructors are coming in, favoured by these technological changes that serve to keep the evolutionary and positive tension of those who see our formula as a development platform for the future.
“We need to look at the whole picture and not the detail. We need to think big.”
With this season shaping up to be a barnstormer with several teams seemingly capable of winning the championship, Red Bull boss Christian Horner says he believes there will be “winners and losers” from the major changes.
“Formula 1 is very good at that, changing the rules just as things are getting spicy,” Horner quipped to media, including PlanetF1.com, in Abu Dhabi.
“I mean, 2026 is the biggest reset in probably the last 60 years of Formula 1, where both powertrain and chassis are changing, but that’s the same for everyone.
“There will be winners and losers from that. First of all, 2025 is where the focus will be.”
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