Last Updated on April 21 2026, 10:10 pm
In just under two weeks’ time, F1 will return from its enforced April break following the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix. But the teams and the sport’s regulators have not been enjoying a well-earned rest from their endeavors, as engineers up and down the grid have been crisis-managing car developments following what has been a less-than-satisfactory start to the year for many.
Of course, Aston Martin’s tragic start to the season will emerge as a topic again in Miami, as the team remains without a proper team principal since the announcement that Adrian Newey will step down from that role at some point.
But the topic on everyone’s lips will be the agreed regulation changes made this week, as the FIA attempts to prevent further dangers and farcical F1 qualifying and racing. Given the layout of the Miami circuit outside the Dolphins’ stadium, the issue of drivers being unable to complete a qualifying lap flat-out will probably resolve itself naturally.
FIA act to quell growing F1 driver discontent
That said, the FIA’s reduction of the maximum energy harvesting allowed per lap from 8 MJ to 7 MJ will also go some way toward solving this thorny issue. Further, restricting the maximum electrical energy deployment from 350 kW to 250 kW—except for ‘hard acceleration zones’—should reduce the horrifying closing speeds which resulted in a huge crash for Oliver Bearman last time out in Japan.
These, along with a number of other ‘tweaks’ to the regulations, are intended to quell the outcry from fans and drivers alike. However, whether the drivers will be gagged when asked for their opinion on these changes is as yet uncertain, although a recent interview given by Lando Norris must be a cause for concern among F1’s journalists.
The F1 reigning world champion was recently forbidden from addressing the mounting controversy surrounding Formula 1’s 2026 regulations during a high-profile interview with The Guardian. Despite the obvious weight of his opinion, Norris’s media handlers deemed this topic—along with issues relating to his rivals—strictly off-limits.
While Max Verstappen is credited with creating much of the noise from the drivers about the ludicrous nature of the 2026 rules and their effects on racing, Lando Norris too has been vocal and even proved prophetic in comments he made during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.
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Frightening closing speeds caused the inevitable Bearman crash
“Depending on what drivers do, you can have closing speeds of 30, 40, 50 kph,” Norris warned. “When someone hits another driver at that speed, you are going to fly… go over the fence and do a lot of damage to yourself and maybe to others. It is a pretty horrible thing to think about,” said Norris.
Next time out, exactly this situation occurred as Oli Bearman approached the Spoon corner flat-out at over 300 kph. Into view in a split second came the dawdling Alpine of Franco Colapinto, harvesting energy; the speed differential was around 50 kph. While Bearman avoided smashing into the back of the Alpine, his evasive action forced him onto the grass and into the wall at a chilling speed.
This finally persuaded the slow-to-act FIA and FOM that more urgent rule changes were required than previously thought. Despite Norris and many other drivers having freely expressed their opinions to date this year, in his interview with The Guardian, Lando Norris was gagged when questioned by Donald McRae.
“With 10 minutes left of the interview, I ask about the regulations,” McRae reports. “Norris’s manager is not with us in person, but a phone has been placed on the table. His disembodied voice suddenly crackles from it and stresses that there can be no questions about this subject; his sole interjection during the interview.”
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Norris gagged over the subject of F1’s 2026 rules
The reporter cleverly pivoted toward the topic of current safety in F1, and again Norris was silenced by a second representative from McLaren in the room. They physically intervened, claiming that the allowed period of time for the interview had elapsed. “We’re done with time,” McRae reveals was said.
Lando was clearly not fully aware of the gagging order placed upon him, initially responding that he was “happy to answer” before the topic was swiftly and abruptly shut down. This raises questions over how the drivers will be allowed to respond to questions in Miami regarding how the F1 regulators have improved the matters over which they have been loudly complaining.
“Let’s wait and see until we’ve been on track” may well be the guarded answer from the drivers on media day as F1 attempts to shore up its image among the millions of fans around the world. And to a certain degree, “wait and see” is all we can do, despite TJ13’s analysis that the new rule ‘tweaks’ do not go far enough.
That said, it is unlikely that quadruple world champion Max Verstappen can be reined in, even should he be threatened with potential action for ‘bringing the sport into disrepute.’ Of course, the F1 bosses want to protect their carefully crafted global image of the pinnacle of motorsport with investors and sponsors alike. This keeps the gravy train moving, and criticism from F1’s gladiators does not help the cause.
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The real test of the rule ‘tweaks’ will come in Canada
The street-course style layout of the Miami track would have seen a much-diminished impact on the issues faced by the drivers even without yesterday’s rule changes. Energy deployment opportunities are more limited on such a course layout, and so closing speeds would have been less of a concern.
It will be the race after Miami where the new rules are tested to their limits: at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal. The track layout on the Île Notre-Dame is similar to that of Albert Park, which hosted the season opener in Melbourne. There, the huge differentials in speed were obvious to even the uneducated eye.
Excessive super-clipping meant the cars were dramatically slowing down at the end of the straights, and there were plenty of half-hearted corner entries due to drivers being forced to lift and coast. The Montreal weekend will be a big test for the changes agreed yesterday, and further ‘tweaks’ may yet be required before F1 returns to its European heartland for the summer season.
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NEXT ARTICLE – The obsession behind F1’s rule ‘tweaks’
Formula One claims it has acted swiftly and decisively to change the 2026 rules which have proven so far to be a farce. Firstly, as a matter of safety, F1 and the FIA needed to act to prevent the horrendous closing speeds which have been visible between cars who are deploying electrical boost and others who are harvesting energy.
Last time out in Japan, Haas F1 driver Oliver Bearman was blasting through the right-hander on the approach to Spoon when he came upon the dawdling Alpine of Franco Colapinto who was storing up electrical energy. The result being the Haas F1 driver ended up in the wall and suffered a massive 50g impact. While he was helped away limping, fortunately the British driver suffered no broken bones.
To prevent this, it has been agreed that in ‘non-hard’ accelerating zones, the maximum deployment from the car will be cut from 350kW to 250kW. Where the full amount of power will be available is out of a corner onto a straight, but in the case of Bearman in Suzuka on the entrance to Spoon corner, he would have had just under a third less electrical boost which may have mitigated the incident….. CONTINUE TO READ THIS STORY
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13 and a career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media. Having trained in investigative journalism and contributed to several European sports outlets, Hunt brings rigour and polish to every article. His role is to sharpen analysis, check facts and ensure TJ13’s daily output meets the highest editorial standards.
