Formula 1 racing is on a break, but the politicking over the regulations is only just beginning.

Galvanised by a crunch rules meeting set down for this Thursday, drivers past and present are having their say on the rules they want changed in the new formula.

Martin Brundle, the Sky Sports commentator, says some issues are fundamental to the future of the sport.

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Elsewhere, Audi is still on the hunt for a new team principal, though a like-for-like replacement for Jonathan Wheatley isn’t what the team is after.

And later this month in Monaco, Ayrton Senna’s original Formula 1 car is set to go under the hammer, with an eye-popping price expected.

BRUNDLE SAYS FIA HAS ‘GOT TO GET RID OF’ KEY NEW RULE

Formula 1’s complex 2026 engine regulations are forcing drivers to breach a longstanding rule on driving the cars without interference, according to Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle.

Despite this year’s new rules bringing a welcome boost to overtaking at circuits that previously featured little passing, some drivers have slammed the action for being artificial because it is heavily dependent on battery charge.

But some drivers noted in Suzuka that overtaking went beyond being artificial to in some cases being accidental.

Lando Norris said he “didn’t even want to overtake” Lewis Hamilton into the chicane during their late-race battle in Japan knowing it would leave him vulnerable to being attacked back in the first turn but that the complex algorithms managing the power unit forced him to do it.

“I don’t want [the battery] to deploy, but I can’t control it, so I overtake him and then I have no battery, so he just flies past,” he said.

Norris’s revelation follows criticism from drivers about the engine unpredictably deploying or refusing to deploy electrical power during qualifying if they make a minor mistake.

Brundle, speaking to the F1 Show podcast, said the lack of driver control “worried” him.

“There’s a regulation in Formula 1. It’s been around forever. It’s very simple and far-reaching. The driver must drive the car alone and unaided,” he said.

“The driver shouldn’t have any surprises by a self-learning car. They’ve got to get rid of that. I’m sure it’s not the work of the moment, but the power delivery must be proportional to what the driver is doing with the throttle.

“That’s a fundamental. It has to be linear.”

Despite the importance of the issue, Brundle doubted it could be fixed in the near term.

“It’s a big issue for the FIA,” he said.

“They will now have to do something and listen to the drivers.

“But we’re hamstrung. We’ve got a motor that churns out three times its electrical power compared to last year, and the battery depletes in any given decent straight.

“We’re painted into a corner. We’re between a rock and a hard place on this because the hardware is just not up to it.

“It’s fundamentally flawed, but I think they should be able to smooth some of these elements.”

The sport is preparing for crunch meetings this Thursday to agree on possible rule changes for this year and 2027.

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AUDI WON’T DIRECTLY REPLACE FORMER TEAM PRINCIPAL

Audi chief Mattia Binotto says his team is unlikely to settle on a like-for-like replacement for Jonathan Wheatley after the former team principal left his role suddenly last month.

Wheatley had been poached from Red Bull Racing, where he had been its long-time sporting director, to become Sauber’s team principal last year and Audi’s inaugural boss when the Swiss squad rebranded this season.

But Audi unexpectedly announced the Englishman had left the team just two rounds into the campaign, citing personal reasons. His exit followed reports he was talking to Aston Martin about replacing Adrian Newey as team principal.

Wheatley had been operating as one half of a two-person leadership structure at Audi alongside Binotto, whose title is ‘head of Audi F1 project’.

Binotto, a former Ferrari principal, took over Wheatley’s responsibilities in Japan as the team sought a replacement, but he subsequently revealed that Audi intended to make the role a more junior position.

“For the future, I think we are not looking for a new team principal,” he said, per Autosport.

“I will keep the role, but I will need someone to support me at the race weekends because I will not be always at the race weekend myself.

“I need to focus most at the factory where there is the most to transform, I would say — not only to develop [but] to transform — so certainly a support at the race weekend is required.”

Binotto’s answer hints at a possible cause for Wheatley’s unexpected departure — that his role wasn’t as senior or imbued with as much power as he had anticipated.

With Binotto at the helm, the team principal role is being sold as something more akin to a trackside manager or perhaps even simply a representative of the senior leadership.

Wheatley had been known to have coveted Christian Horner’s job at Red Bull Racing, where the Briton was also CEO — though Horner’s eventual dismissal came about in part because Red Bull believed he had amassed too much power.

Wheatley is still believed to be in line for the top job at Aston Martin after an extensive period of gardening leave.

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AYRTON SENNA’S DEBUT CAR TO GO UNDER THE HAMMER

Ayrton Senna’s debut grand prix car is expected to fetch as much as $6.34 million when it goes under the hammer later this month.

Senna piloted the Toleman TG183B in his debut 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix, where he started 16th and failed to finish thanks to a turbocharger problem.

The chassis — number 5, driven while the Brazilian awaited the team’s 1984 car — carried Senna to sixth place and his maiden points at the following round in South Africa and again in Belgium, though he failed to qualify for the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola.

It was a low-key start to one of Formula 1’s greatest ever careers, but the arrival of the TG184 yielded better results, including his famous second place in the wet in Monaco and a pair of additional podiums at Brands Hatch and Estoril.

Those results catapulted him to the more competitive Lotus team for his second season and eventually to McLaren and his first title in 1988.

RM Sotheby’s will put the car under the hammer on 25 April in Monaco during the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique weekend.

The car, equipped with a period-correct Hart 415T, is eligible to compete in the famous Monaco historic race as well as other period grand prix events.

Much of the car is in original condition, including with Senna’s name spelled incorrectly as ‘Aryton’ on the footrest.

Senna’s TG183B has been driven by both Martin Brundle and Pierre Gasly in demonstration events and is expected to fetch between €2.8 million and €3.8 million ($4.67 million and $6.34 million).