Listen to Pit Talk now ><\/a><\/p>\nVerstappen sounded more optimistic, however, that the sport was receptive to driver feedback, with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali in particular open to hearing complaints despite the Italian administrator\u2019s claim that F1 has no problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe positive thing about it is that we\u2019ve had some nice meetings with Formula 1 and the FIA, and I think that\u2019s hopefully a starting point for the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven in a few years time, maybe I\u2019m not here anymore, but I really hope that for the future drivers as well there\u2019s more input to come from the drivers to the organisers in general, because I do think that most of the drivers here, we have a good understanding and a good feel of what is needed to make Formula 1 a good product, a fun product.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s already a huge step forward in terms of the communication.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope [they\u2019ll listen to the drivers] more and more. I\u2019m sure that we can have really good input about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if we would have had that five or six years ago, then we probably wouldn\u2019t have been in the state that we are in now. I just hope that it\u2019s a lesson for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Australian Grand Prix pushed back | 00:54<\/p>\n
BROADER RESPONSES MIXED<\/p>\n
Though Verstappen\u2019s comments have carried the most weight over the opening three rounds of the season, Lance Stroll made a play for most caustic criticism in Miami.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tested some F3 cars, and it\u2019s like 1000 times more fun and better to drive, because you have your right foot, you give what you want and you get what you want,\u201c Stroll said, per The Race.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven the weight of the car, you know? Something, 550, 650 kilos, it\u2019s just a lot nicer than 750 to 800-plus kilos. Things like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re miles off of where we should be. We had time off in the break, I was randomly watching old races and stuff \u2014 I even had the Monaco Historics on the TV and I heard some cars, some Ferrari cars from early 2000s, and how good they sounded, how small and nimble [they looked].<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were some onboards I saw from early or even mid-2000s, the V8 era, V10 era, and then what it looks like versus now \u2014 it came up on my phone and stuff, and I was watching it, and you hear what it\u2019s like now, the character of the cars and how much more intense it looked, how much more exciting it looked back then compared to now.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sad, but hopefully we\u2019re heading back in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stroll said he was hopeful the rule changes would make a difference but said drivers would likely have to wait years before significant improvements.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully it\u2019s a bit more normal to drive \u2026 but I think we\u2019re still far away from proper F1 cars \u2014 pushing flat out, without thinking about batteries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear rumours about [the next rule set] \u2026 but now we\u2019re going to have to live with these ones for the next three-four years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most drivers were more measured in their response to the rule changes, with many hopeful that the formula can be improved significantly in 2027, even if that meant they were resigned to the engine\u2019s flaws in 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re never going to fix the problems without changing the hardware of the power units, but I think it\u2019s a step in the right direction,\u201d Oscar Piastri said. \u201cHow much it helps, we\u2019ll have to wait and see, but certainly some of the tweaks are a good step forward, which is good to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think everyone understands the limitations of what we have and is trying to adapt it to make things better for everybody.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of those things we can tweak, like we have done. Some of those things you need to change in the medium term. Some of the things need a complete overhaul probably. But I think everyone\u2019s aware of where we are at least, and we can make changes from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marc Marquez goes off in a HUGE crash | 00:39<\/p>\n
Reigning champion Lando Norris said qualifying would be better, though the racing would likely be no different.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would all have liked more in the direction that they\u2019ve gone,\u201d he said, per the BBC. \u201cThe race really isn\u2019t going to be that different, so some things are not going to change that much.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe qualifying should be a bit more flat-out qualifying-style laps, which is a nice thing. It\u2019s what we want [as] the drivers, so I think we have to be happy with the amount of changes that they\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sergio P\u00e9rez said the way the sport collaborated was positive for the direction of the category.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely something really good to see, seeing the teams, FIA, Formula 1, the drivers all trying to improve what we currently have, and I think it will be a really good step.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how much of a difference that will be because we obviously need to race it, but it\u2019s good to see that we are trying to make good changes to improve in all areas and to improve the show and the feeling with the cars, with the qualifying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carlos Sainz, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, said things will be better this weekend, though he cautioned fans not to expect all the sport\u2019s problems to have been solved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe we will come up with a magic bullet here that will suddenly change everything, but I think all the changes are sensible and hopefully going to make things a bit more enjoyable from our part,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just happy to see we\u2019re collaborating, working together to make the sport better and more enjoyable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether it will make a big difference or not, we will obviously have the next few races to analyse, adapt and see if we need to do further changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Isack Hadjar added, though, that the Miami track won\u2019t be a good test of the changes given it\u2019s rated as among the more energy-rich layout on the calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s the most representative track,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s a challenging track for the power units we have.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s going to look good, but on some other tracks it\u2019s definitely going to be harder. But let\u2019s see tomorrow how it feels inside the car and we\u2019ll know more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alex Marquez wins as Marc crashes out | 01:40<\/p>\n
HONDA RULE CHANGES SUSPENDED<\/p>\n
Further to the regulation tweaks to improve the spectacle, the FIA, F1 and the teams had appeared to have thrown their weight behind concessions to help Honda recover from its disastrous start to the season.<\/p>\n
Honda\u2019s first engine under these rules has been brutally unreliable, vibrating so violently that the drivers feared permanent nerve damage in their hands. The shaking also caused spontaneous battery failures during pre-season testing.<\/p>\n
Though Honda has since argued that the engine doesn\u2019t vibrate on the test bench, suggesting the Aston Martin chassis is at least equally to blame, the power unit is also underpowered, with the Japanese brand having admitted before the season started that it was behind the curve with its combustion motor.<\/p>\n
Despite F1\u2019s usually cutthroat political climate, there appeared to be consensus that Aston Martin-Honda\u2019s extreme struggles serve no-one, and rule changes to grant the engine manufacturer additional development opportunities and budget concessions this year had apparently been agreed in principle.<\/p>\n
However, according to The Race, a vote on those rules changes has been suspended by the FIA despite the deadline for votes having passed earlier this week.<\/p>\n
It further reports that the vote \u2014 held between engine manufacturers, including Cadillac, which will field its own engine in the coming years \u2014 didn\u2019t receive sufficient support and that some brands had requested further review.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a blow to Honda, though it may not end up being a setback.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s still debate over when the FIA will dole out the first concessions of the season. Engine performance is supposed to be measured after every six grands prix \u2014 every quarter of the original 24-race calendar. Miami was supposed to have been round 6, but the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix means engine assessments won\u2019t be concluded until after the Monaco Grand Prix in early June.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s moved, it\u2019s likely to be shifted to after the Canadian Grand Prix later this month. Either way, there could be enough time to reach agreement on Honda\u2019s additional concessions so that the Japanese marque can begin work as soon as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen says changes to Formula 1\u2019s contentious 2026 regulations are nothing more than \u201ca tickle\u201d as he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[8454,2095,1724,64,63,131169,310900,2090,310912,4971,306817,310906,300936,310905,9239,310904,310902,38763,81126,310909,817,2755,813,816,841,28109,14211,310903,177555,310907,10114,310901,941,16183,1737,4280,825,5140,2041,2067,264306,2119,36328,21746,228944,310911,310910,37290,16205,28114,147522,192127,194719,2072,310908,85,52474,73217,2614],"class_list":["post-642000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-alex-marquez","tag-america","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-grand","tag-battery-levels","tag-british-broadcasting-corporation","tag-budget-concessions","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-crashes-outmotorsport","tag-development-opportunities","tag-driver-feedback","tag-drivers-weigh","tag-eastern-asia","tag-energy-rich-layout","tag-engine-assessments","tag-engine-manufacturers","tag-engine-performance","tag-extreme-struggles-serve","tag-f1","tag-florida","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-grand-prix","tag-grand-prix-drivers-association","tag-grands-prix","tag-highest-profile-critic","tag-home-grand-prix","tag-honda-rule-changes","tag-isack-hadjar","tag-italian-administrator","tag-japan","tag-japanese-brand","tag-lando-norris","tag-marc-marquez","tag-max-verstappen","tag-miami","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-permanent-nerve-damage","tag-pit-talk","tag-podium-finish","tag-positive-thing","tag-power-units","tag-qualifying-style-laps","tag-representative-track","tag-rule-book","tag-rule-changes","tag-rule-set","tag-rule-tweaks","tag-rules-changes","tag-safety-grounds","tag-sergio-perez","tag-spontaneous-battery-failures","tag-sports","tag-stefano-domenicali","tag-suzuka","tag-united-states-of-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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