Almost to a man, the Formula 1 drivers have been highly critical of the sport’s new era of regulations beginning in 2026. From the yo-yo overtakes, to cars slowing way before the braking points due to a starvation of electrical power, the sport as a racing spectacle is certainly in crisis.
Following the farcical Belgian Grand Prix, where the cars in sector two were running merely on their combustion engines—which have less power than an F2 car—a number of drivers questioned why the ridiculous scenario had not been foreseen.
Carlos Sainz, who speaks on behalf of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA), was scathing: “Whoever saw these simulations in 2022, 2023 and didn’t look at it and say, ‘How can we even accept that?’ needs to review what happened there because it should have never happened.”
Global superstar and seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton shook his head in despair, questioning: “I don’t know who made the decision, but whoever it is, they’ve still got their job.”
Hands Tied: The FIA’s Red Tape Embarrassment
Now the FIA’s head of single-seater operations, Nikolas Tombazis, has responded, claiming the sport’s governing body did know of the issues, but their hands were tied. A meeting was held in Bahrain in 2025, where the FIA proposed a move to a 60/40 split in the power source in favor of the combustion engines over the hybrid.
This was rejected. Further, following 2026 pre-season testing where a number of issues became apparent, the FIA called for a reduction of the maximum deployment during races from 350kW to 200kW. So why did F1’s policeman fail to prevent the debacle we now have before us?
“We did anticipate a lot of these things they have complained about in the two years before the launch of the season, and we did try to make some adjustments,” pleads Tombazis. “But we failed with the governance that was in place. So I think it was realistically only to be expected.”
Corporate Hostage: How Manufacturers Locked the Rules
To attract the likes of Audi, Cadillac, and Ford into the sport, the FIA had instigated a “Power Unit Advisory Committee,” and it was afforded powers to bind F1 and the FIA. Part of this was to prevent the likes of Audi claiming they were not yet under the auspices of the F1 regulations and blowing billions in R&D on their new engine—while the current manufacturers were constrained.
“So that’s why there was a governance agreement that, on the one hand, forced them to be bound by the regulations, including the financial and operational, and all of that. But on the other hand, it puts limitations as to how much we can change things unilaterally as the FIA.
“Therefore, any change had to be approved by a significant number of the PU manufacturers, and so for the sort of changes we did, we needed at least four of them to agree. Quite simply, four of them did not agree during the years when we discussed adjustments,” the FIA official reveals.
So now there are agreements to move towards the FIA’s recommendations, but they will only be complete for the 2028 season—for the same reasons—the manufacturers have dictated it be so. For the next era of F1 power starting in 2031, the FIA will have no such excuses, given the current agreements on regulation changes are for the current era of F1 power units alone.
Record Crowds vs. Broken Racing
Yet despite fans and punters alike persistently criticizing the current regulations, it appears trackside attendance around the world is growing. Six of the eleven Grand Prix weekends this year have reported record attendances, and the British Grand Prix smashed the all-time record for an F1 three-day number of spectators.
To date, this season has seen a 6% increase in fans at the track, and in a response to driver criticism of the new cars, Stefano Domenicali retorted that fan polls are showing an increase in satisfaction in F1 this season. Now the USGP promoter is predicting a record crowd is expected for the race weekend at the Circuit of the Americas and cast some light on why the interest in F1 is still growing despite the on-track action at times being farcical.
“Because we’re not confined by the boundaries of a sports field, we’re able to continue to grow the on-site experience,” says USGP boss Bobby Epstein. “We can add more programming and more things for people to do, and I think that then allows the fan to bring a friend, and that friend can get engaged, and that just continues to work.”
Festivals of Speed: festival Goers, Not Racing Fans?
Turning an F1 weekend into a multi-experience event where the cars on track are merely part of the occasion led to the British Grand Prix being dubbed the “Glastonbury of motorsport.” While F1 circuits are not defined by the size of a stadium and its maximum seating capacity, there are logistical considerations which define the maximum number of people who can reasonably get to and from a track.
And the USGP has suffered in previous years from poor access along with other logistical issues such as the availability of water in the searing Texas heat. Yet all that is soon to change, according to Epstein: “We’ve had good meetings with the highway department, and they’ve assured us within two years they’re improving the roads to get out of here, which would allow us to add 15,000–30,000 more people per day with additional lanes,” he explains.
“We’d love to see that happen because we’ve got the demand. We’re already the most well-attended, largest single-weekend sporting event in America annually, and so we’d be happy to extend that lead.”
Yet the most telling of his comments is a hard reality F1 fans will have to adjust to: “I think a lot of our fans are fans of our event as much as they are of the sport itself, so some of that [criticism] is probably anticipated noise that you have from a year where you have a major overhaul in the rules.”
The Cautionary Tale: How NASCAR Gimmicked Itself into Obscurity
Yet F1 must sort its current on-track “quirks,” as Epstein describes them, if it is not to follow the decline suffered in another racing series—NASCAR. For over 50 years, stock car racing was a sport of attrition, long-term strategy, and total championship endurance. The driver who consistently managed their equipment, strategy, and performance across a 36-race season won the title.
Yet to reach a new, less technical audience, NASCAR implemented two radical changes. Instead of rewarding the driver who achieved the best results across a cumulative 35 races, in 2014 they instigated the “Elimination Playoffs.” Now a driver could dominate 35 races, suffer one mechanical failure or incident in the final race, and lose the title to someone who squeaked through.
Then in 2017, they introduced “Stage Racing.” They broke long, historic races into artificial segments (“stages”). Green-flag racing was forcibly paused with guaranteed yellow caution flags at pre-determined lap counts, resetting the field and wiping out hard-earned leads to force packed-restart crashes.
Tactical strategies were destroyed as drivers no longer had to manage a 500-mile race; they just sprinted between artificial pause points. Fans and veteran drivers openly criticized the sport for turning into a “reality TV show” on wheels, where rules were constantly tweaked mid-season to keep broadcast excitement high.
“We’ve turned our sport into a game of chance… We used to have real racing, but now it’s just manufactured drama,” said Tony Stewart, 3-time NASCAR Cup Champion.
Soul vs. Spectacle: The Looming Crisis
The push for artificial excitement backfired spectacularly. TV ratings plummeted. Events that used to draw 8 to 10 million viewers dropped by 50% to 70% over the following decade. Iconic tracks like Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Bristol, and Daytona—which routinely sold out 100,000+ seats for decades—saw a massive sea of empty grandstands, forcing tracks to remove tens of thousands of seats.
Major corporate sponsors (like Home Depot, Target, and DuPont) fled the sport as the fan base shrunk and the perceived prestige of winning a NASCAR title eroded. Just like the NASCAR leadership, who assumed casual fans were the future of the sport and so prioritized restarts and crashes, F1 currently risks making the same mistake with its current regulations and attitude towards growing the fan base.
Formula One can be both a weekend of a variety of entertainment and motorsport combined, but it must retain its core values, which place the integrity of racing at the centre
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The Judge, a nom de plume of an experienced F1 journalist and site founder with long-standing sources across the paddock. 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, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
