Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has hit back at drivers criticizing the sport\u2019s new regulations, saying it is \u201cwrong\u201d for the likes of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to speak negatively about F1.<\/p>\n
This weekend\u2019s Australian Grand Prix will mark the start of a new era of F1, which has been heralded as the biggest rule change in the sport\u2019s 76-year history.<\/p>\n
Multiple elements of the regulations have been changed to accommodate new hybrid engines that derive 50% of their power from sustainable fuels and 50% from an electric motor.<\/p>\n
During preseason testing in Bahrain, a number of drivers raised concerns about the added emphasis on electrical power and the need to manage energy around the lap rather than push the car to the limit.<\/p>\n
Verstappen labelled the new formula as \u201canti-racing\u201d while Hamilton said \u201cnone of the fans are going to understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an interview with Sky Sports on the eve of the new season in Australia, Domenicali responded to the drivers\u2019 reaction to F1\u2019s new rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s wrong, in general terms, to talk bad about an incredible world that is allowing all of us to grow,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s the only thing that I would say is not right.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, you know, I always listen [with] prudency. There is an evolution of driving, it means that the best driver will be able to be the fastest.\u201d<\/p>\n
During Thursday\u2019s media day in Melbourne, Verstappen doubled down on his position by saying the limitations of the new power units were obvious to F1 insiders long before the cars started running on track in testing.<\/p>\n
The concern is that some circuit layouts, such as Melbourne\u2019s Albert Park, present so few opportunities to charge the battery under heavy braking that drivers are forced to harvest energy on parts of the track — such as high-speed corners — where they have previously driven flat-out.<\/p>\n
By sacrificing lap time to strategically top up the battery in certain sections of the track, the recovered energy can then be used to lower the overall lap time through extended periods of energy deployment under acceleration.<\/p>\n
Despite the emphasis on energy management under the new formula, Domenicali said it was good for F1 that fans\u2019 focus is on the track.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m feeling good,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019m feeling good because we have the duty of bringing positivity in this moment of what we live in. I feel good because there is a lot of attention about what is happening on the track.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel good because we are in Melbourne with an incredible crowd, incredible, passionate people. We have seen another step of being very attractive for the younger generation, and that\u2019s thanks to what we are trying to do together.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I do believe that the strategy we have taken is the right one. To keep really hammering down, knowing that we can sit and be focused on delivering something more for our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
The increase in electrical power was agreed by F1 stakeholders in 2022 at a time when governments around the world were legislating against the long-term future of petrol-powered cars, thereby forcing manufacturers to shift focus to the production of electric vehicles.<\/p>\n
Keen to attract Audi to the sport as a factory team, F1 invited the German manufacturer into its discussions with existing power unit manufacturers about the direction of the new regulations, which ultimately led to the three-fold increase in electric power and switch to advanced sustainable fuels.<\/p>\n
The rule change also convinced Honda to U-turn on its decision to make a clean exit from F1 at the of 2025 when its deal with Red Bull came to an end.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year we are bringing a new power unit for the reason that was obvious a couple of years ago: We wanted to attract more manufacturers,\u201d Domenicali explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew that the sustainable fuel was an element that would be attractive for the manufacturers, knowing that in terms of mobility, manufacturers should focus not only on electrification. And that\u2019s why this project started.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Friday\u2019s second practice session for the Australian Grand Prix, the fastest lap time set by McLaren\u2019s Oscar Piastri was 3.3 seconds off the fastest time from the same session last year.<\/p>\n
Domenicali is confident that gap will narrow as the cars develop and said he remains open to any tweaks to the regulations that might improve the sport overall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that the possibility to develop this car, both from the engineering point of view and also from the driver\u2019s point of view, will enable us to see very, very soon a car that will be faster,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe world of engineers behind F1 is incredible. The approach that we have discussed already in the last F1 Commission with the FIA, with the teams, very openly. If we see something that needs to be addressed, we\u2019re going to address it in the right way.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think that now we are on a course where everyone realises that if there is something clear that has to be done to improve [F1], why not? Let\u2019s do it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has hit back at drivers criticizing the sport\u2019s new regulations, saying it is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,147905,88754,82],"class_list":["post-518209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-lewis-hamilton-sports-auto-racing-player-player-statscom-355624","tag-max-verstappen-sports-auto-racing-player-player-statscom-843471","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}