After two discussions with technical chiefs, Monday marked the long-awaited meeting between the FIA, Formula 1, the teams and power unit manufacturers. The agenda revolved around how the technical regulations could be improved based on the opening three rounds, and ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
Both the FIA and F1 had made it clear beforehand that major changes were highly unlikely, also because both the governing body and the commercial rightsholder do not consider the racing itself to be problematic – despite some complaints about yo-yo racing.
There was broad consensus on two topics that are highlighted in a statement shared by the FIA after the meeting: qualifying needs to be more on the limit again, and safety must be improved – especially after the closing speeds played a major role in Oliver Bearman’s crash in Japan.
Super clipping limit increased, harvesting in qualifying reduced
In reality, these points come down to adjustments to the energy management, on both the deployment and harvesting sides. All changes were unanimously agreed by the teams and only need official approval from the World Motor Sport Council.
First of all, the FIA announced that super clipping will be increased from 250 kilowatts to the maximum of 350 kilowatts from Miami onward. This means drivers can recover more energy while remaining at full throttle, a change McLaren team boss Andrea Stella had already advocated for during winter testing in Bahrain.
Increasing super clipping does not eliminate all concerns from fans — cars will still lose top speed before the end of straights — but the speed profile is considered more natural and, above all, safer than with unexpected lift and coast manoeuvres.
Safety concerns were raised after Oliver Bearman’s crash
Photo by: Kym Illman / Getty Images
In addition, the FIA reduced the harvesting limit during qualifying from 8 megajoules to 7 megajoules, although it should be noted that these values can be lowered even further for 12 circuits on the calendar.
This means cars can recover less energy during a qualifying lap and therefore have less electrical power to deploy. It will make the 2026 cars slower, but reduces the need for both lift-and-coast and super clipping. It should help to make qualifying more on the limit again, despite slightly slower lap times.
“This change targets a maximum super clipping duration reduced to approximately 2-4 seconds per lap,” the FIA added.
In Japan, the governing body already introduced a similar measure, which according to the federation reduced super clipping from 10 to six seconds per lap at Suzuka. That change was still a one-off at the time, but following Monday’s meeting will now become a structural measure.
The FIA will also make adjustments on the deployment side. MGU-K deployment remains at 350 kilowatts for what the FIA calls “key acceleration zones”, but will be limited to 250 kilowatts for other parts of the lap. Additionally, the maximum power available through boost mode in race conditions is now capped at +150 kW.
“These measures are designed to reduce excessive closing speeds while maintaining overtaking opportunities and overall performance characteristics,” the FIA explained.
Start Grid
Photo by: Lars Baron / Getty Images
New safety system for start, addition changes in the wet
In addition to these three main topics, the FIA, teams and manufacturers also discussed more specific scenarios.
One of these concerns race starts, which some in the paddock have described as a safety issue. Other teams — including Ferrari — have argued that concessions have already been made and that it also comes down to design choices, such as the smaller turbo.
From Miami onwards, the FIA will test a so-called “low power start detection system”, capable of identifying cars with abnormally low acceleration shortly after clutch release.
“In such cases, an automatic MGU-K deployment will be triggered to ensure a minimum level of acceleration and mitigate start-related risks without introducing any sporting advantage.”
This means that the start will not be competitive in those cases, but that the driver in question can at least move away from their grid position to avoid a major crash. “And an associated visual warning system is being introduced, activating flashing lights (rear and lateral) on affected cars to alert following drivers.”
Finally, agreement has been reached on improving safety in wet conditions. The temperature of the tyre blankets for intermediates will be increased, while the ERS deployment will be reduced and the rear light systems will been simplified.
Changes have been made for wet weather running
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
The proposals agreed in the meeting on Monday will be implemented from Miami, apart from the race start changes that will be tested during the next race weekend when feedback will be collected from teams and drivers.
FIA president praises ‘constructive’ attitude of teams
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is satisfied with the outcome of the meeting and the constructive manner in which the teams approached it.
“I would like to praise everyone across the Formula 1 ecosystem – the FIA staff, teams, drivers and the power unit manufacturers – for the constructive and collaborative work carried out in a very short space of time.
“While we have faced an unexpected gap in the calendar due to circumstances beyond the sport, all parties have remained fully committed to acting in the best interests of Formula 1. More than ever, the drivers have been at the heart of these discussions, and I would like to thank them for their valuable input throughout this process,” Ben Sulayem said in a statement.
“Safety and sporting fairness remain the FIA’s highest priorities. These changes have been introduced to address the issues identified in the opening events and to ensure the continued integrity and quality of the competition. We now look forward to the rest of what promises to be an exciting 2026 season.”
Wolff warns against a “baseball bat”, Verstappen hopes for 2027
As expected, the changes are focused on energy management and are fairly measured, with Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff already stating before the meeting that no drastic intervention was needed.
“I must really say that the discussions that have been taking place between the group of drivers, FIA, Formula 1, and the teams have been constructive.
“We all share the same objectives: how can we improve the product, make it out-and-out racing, and look at what can we improve in terms of safety. But act with a scalpel and not with a baseball bat.”
Max Verstappen, who has been the most outspoken about the regulations so far, also indicated last week that he expected few major changes for 2026, but is mainly hoping for “bigger changes” for 2027.
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