Stefano Domenicali reconsiders 2026 F1 rules following Oliver Bearman Suzuka crash

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Before the Japanese Grand Prix, Stefano Domenicali and the FIA were vocal about their plans to adjust the new F1 rules.

Bearman’s 50G crash at Suzuka highlighted growing concerns over safety issues linked to recent changes in Formula One regulations.

In the aftermath, many fans criticised F1 officials for not taking driver safety seriously enough and demanded action.

This has sparked debate over whether the FIA puts enough emphasis on driver safety compared to other aspects of the sport, like entertainment value.

But Bearman’s accident may have served as a turning point for Stefano Domenicali, who could now be rethinking his initial stance on the new rules.

Stefano Domenicali and FIA reportedly held off 2026 regulation changes until after Hungarian GP

On the Nailing the Apex podcast, F1 journalist Julianne Cerasoli shared that she had spoken to Stefano Domenicali and others at the FIA before the Japanese Grand Prix.

Domenicali was said to be standing firm on the new rules, with no intention of making changes before the Hungarian Grand Prix. He reportedly didn’t see any major problems with how things were going at the time.

“I was talking to people from teams, and I spoke to Stefano (Domenicali), and spoke to the FIA. And they’re all saying, ‘No, the racing is fine. There are no issues with the racing.’

“We are only going to address qualifying because qualifying is absolutely ridiculous. For racing, we just need people to be more adjusted to the regulations, and all the stuff that you’re seeing that maybe isn’t right.

“It’s because of that nobody is optimising anything. So let’s wait until Hungary.’ That’s what I was hearing. Now, after what happened with Bearman, I think they will do something for Miami.”

Why the FIA has delayed its planned Miami rule changes

During the same podcast episode, Cerasoli mentioned that the FIA had been planning a change to tackle issues with harvesting limits and energy deployment.

Building on that, ESPN’s Nate Saunders added that after running simulations, the FIA found these changes didn’t lead to any significant improvements.

“That’s one thing they’ve been saying is, ‘We want to be able to control it all the way around the lap.’ But it wasn’t really designed for that. It wasn’t meant to be used as an ad nauseam thing.

“I’m right in saying that they’ve tried a few simulations of what you’ve mentioned, and it was really minimal gains at most places, if not no change at all.”

This isn’t likely to sit well with many drivers. Some have already voiced their preference for a return to full combustion engines since the new rules came into effect.

Even attempts by the FIA to fine-tune the regulations haven’t led to any noticeable benefits so far. So any meaningful changes might have to wait until well after Miami.

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