By: Kai V.D. Payne

“Formula 1 cars will continue to be fast, to be cool, to be awe-inspiring to watch. But from 2026, they will be more challenging for the teams and the drivers. They’ll have to deal with new tech and tighter rules”

F1 Correspondent & Presenter: Lawrence Barretto (12/17/25)

This is from the official article the FIA released in regards with the new 2026 regulations for Formula One (F1). On papers these regulations got fans excited for 2026 when this statement was released in 2025 for a new type of racing, with faster cars, better overtaking, and more. However after the second race in China, Fans, drivers, manufacturers, and engineers are heavily protesting the new regulations and are demanding they be reverted to the 2025 regulations.

After the Gran Prix’s in Australia and Shanghai in addition with the three test races in pre-season. Drivers, and fans have complained about the new regulations calling it “Playing oversized Mario Cart” (stated by F1 drivers Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Sergio Perez). The protest against the regulations that the FIA (the managing organization for Formula One, Two, and Three), has considered reverting to 2025 regulations for the rest of the season.

Before we go onto student testimonies, lets go over some of the changes that the FIA imposed on teams for 2026. F1 Correspondent & Presenter: Lawrence Barretto stated a few changes to the cars design in 2026 those being Aerodynamic adjustments (including tires, frame, and wing), Car floor adjustment, Front and Rear wing’s material removal, introduction to “Active Aero”, Removal of “DRS” (Drag Reduction System), Introduction of “Overtake Mode”, introduction of “Boost Mode”, Battery recharge modes, Engine ratio changes, introduction of Energy Recovery System (ERS), Removal of MGU-H, Introduction of new fuel “Advances Sustainable Fuels”, and Driver safety cell improvement.

I did attempt to check FIA.com (Federation Internationale De L’Automobile’s Offical Website) for additional rules added but as of 03/20/26 it was offline, and was not able to be viewed. We interviewed a few students here at IA on their thoughts and here they are.

“For me, this season, I’m kind of half on it half and half. At one point, yeah, I am a Mercedes fan Anna Ferrari fan at the same time. Because, like, you’re always a Ferrari fan. 
But Shari’s doing well, but I don’t know if it’s because of the regulation. You see many drivers on the grid as saying, especially the top drivers, they’re saying the regulation. It feels more like Mario Kart, but the cars just go off fast. 
Like, you’re able to see the battles when they run out of, when they put the car in overtake mode, it runs out so fast. It is more, the F1 regulations have been basically been made into energy consumption, more on who can conserve more energy better, then rather on who drives better. It was always supposed to be about who drives better and who makes the best car. 
Now, just who can conserve their energy the most? ‘Cause it’s ’cause it’s so much into 5050 energy and electric and fuel based, that they’re converting more into just electric. It’s turning more into formula. 
Even you’ve seen even Formula E drivers coming up and saying that Formula One is turning more into Formula E, even though it’s supposed to be the opposite. where Formula One is supposed to gas powered cars mainly, and the main role of Formula One is for advertising, but if you look at the cars, it is just, they’re trying to push so much into the electric that it feels like the cars are losing the soul. If you hear the cause, it makes you feel like what is that screeching sound rather than you can tell from the sound that that is a formula and car. Now it just sounds like a hybrid electric car that is just burning something or like just you don’t even hear the engine sound a lot. 
It’s just not working well. You’re able to see when the drivers are fighting. Yeah, there are some cases where you have a lot of competition, but that’s where driver skill, but it’s also been basically with energy, with the detection, as well with the detection zones in some races like Shanghai where there’s only one. 
It is just, if you are in 2nd place, or if you’re in 1st place, it is really hard to maintain it, because if you don’t maintain your energy well, especially if you’re in 1st place, because you don’t get that overtake mode where you get to build up energy really quickly. And even if you have a lot of, like, the full energy, if the driver who is attacking you can conserve energy better, even though you have better driving skill, as long as they conserve energy better, they will overtake you. It’s basically become a game of who can hold more energy. than driving. 
That’s my final point.”

Jayant Pathare [12]

“Uh, so what I think about the regulations for F1 right now, this season, um, it’s a bit off, pretty confusing. A lot of teams like Cadillac, Audi, are not getting the expectations that they want as to the races, both races in Australia and China, not many expected the cars to function as well. A lot of, um, people died that, oh, this is regulations that are being intimated to these new cars are going to be all right. 
But no, I guess, like, it’s just confusing in my opinion, yeah.”

William Owitty [11]

As the rest of the races continue on in the 2026 season, epically the Japan race coming up, the regulations will be closely monitored and viewed by fans and teams to see if they will continue to participate in the 2026 F1 season, and we are hopeful for changes.

Sources: Formula One Press Release FIA Official Website