FIA address Max Verstappen's 'terrible' prediction as new F1 rules 'haven't been finished'

The FIA's head of single-seaters, Nikolas Tombazis, has eased Max Verstappen's fears that the 2026 Formula One cars will be 'terrible'. He insisted that the series will explore all options to ensure that drivers are not forced to lift on straights to extract performance from the new machines.

Next year, F1 will experience its first technical regulation shake-up since 2022, and one of the most dramatic in the sport's history. It introduces brand-new power units and active aerodynamics components, meaning the days of DRS overtakes are soon to be over. While there is plenty of excitement about the new cars, the reigning world champion has already voiced his concerns. Speaking in 2023 after some time in the simulator, Verstappen had a warning for the F1 paddock.

"I've been talking about that with the team, and I've seen the data already on the simulator as well," he said. "To me, it looks pretty terrible. I mean, if you go flat-out on the straight at Monza, I don't know what it is - like four or five hundred [metres] before the end of the straight - you have to downshift flat-out, because that's faster.

"I think that's not the way forward, [but] of course, probably that's one of the worst tracks." He also worries about the active aerodynamic components. "The cars probably have a lot less drag, so it will be even harder to overtake on the straight," he continued.

"You have the active aerodynamics, which you can't control; the system will control it for you. Which then I think makes it very awkward to drive, because I prefer to control it myself.

"Of course, when you're behind someone, maybe you need more front or more rear. These kinds of things. If the system starts to control that for you, I don't think that's the right way forward."

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However, Tombazis has provided reassurance that there will be no instances of drivers lifting off the throttle on straights when the new cars hit the track in 2026. He also noted that the new regulations are not in their final state. "We haven't finished the rules yet in that respect," he told Autosport. "The rules are evolving, and we knew of these issues from day one."

He continued: "There will be quite a lot of new provisions in order to manage the energy better and to make sure that cars are not decelerating on the straights, doing funny things, or, let's say, doing unnatural things.

"What we don't want is a situation where they have to lift off, for example, on the straights or anything like that. We will absolutely, categorically, make sure that they don't have to lift off in a particular area in order to do something with the energy or whatever. When they need to go faster, drivers will keep the pedal to the metal, as they say."