The FIA still has a long way to go in commenting on the 2026 technical regulations, which were presented the day before yesterday. At a media meeting in Montreal today, Nicholas Tombasis, FIA director of single-seater racing, admitted that the initial reaction from teams and drivers to the foundational document had been mixed. However, this does not bother him.
Nicholas Tombasis: “The feedback was varied, but I would like to say that there was a lot of positive, because there is support for the goals we are pursuing. But it is clear that some riders and some teams responded cautiously.
But let me explain: First of all, these regulations have not been approved yet. Next Tuesday we will present it to the FIA World Council and we will do it in a very detailed way – the aim is that at the end of the month the regulations will be approved by the World Council.
I also want to emphasize that we wanted to tell the press about it early because we don’t want teams to leak information. That’s why we wanted to present the regulations ourselves in their entirety, so that the press could learn about them from us.
Finally, and most importantly, I would say that discussing the regulations at World Council level and their subsequent adoption is only the first step. This is not yet the final version of the regulations. There are still many issues that will still be discussed and clarified together with the teams.
We are well aware of the teams’ concerns, for example about the amount of downforce the cars will generate on the straights, but this is precisely one of the points that require clarification. Let’s put it this way: after the regulations have been approved and published at the end of this month – we hope so – and until early 2025, when teams can start aerodynamic research for the first time, there will be intensive additional consultations involving the teams, the FOM and other interested parties.
We hope that certain clarifications will be made during these consultations and that these will then be submitted for approval to the World Council, which will meet at the end of this year.
But I understand the comments about future regulations. But you hardly have to worry that the new cars won’t be faster than Formula 2 or something like that. I believe this will all be resolved by the time the regulations take their final form.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
