Racing
© Jonathan Borba
The FIA has agreed a targeted package of 2026 Formula 1 rule changes for the Miami Grand Prix after just three races, cutting back the new cars’ most controversial energy-management demands and adding fresh safety measures for racing and starts.
The changes were finalized in an online meeting on April 20 involving the FIA, team principals, power unit manufacturer CEOs and FOM, and still require formal approval from the FIA World Motor Sport Council via electronic vote. With the exception of the start procedure changes, which will be trialled first in Miami, the package is due to come into force on May 3.
In its statement, the FIA said: “The final proposals presented today are the result of a series of consultations over the past few weeks between the FIA, technical representatives and extensive input from F1 drivers.” It added that discussions on possible adjustments were “based on data gathered from the first three races of the 2026 season.”
That data came from Australia, China and Japan, where the sport’s new 50/50 split between internal combustion and electric power quickly exposed problems with how the cars had to be driven. Qualifying became the clearest flashpoint, with drivers forced into heavy lift-and-coast and energy harvesting, at times backing off even before corners that had previously been taken flat out.
The FIA’s first response is to ease that pressure. Maximum permitted ERS recharge has been reduced from 8MJ to 7MJ per lap, while peak superclipping power rises from 250 kW to 350 kW. The governing body expects that to cut maximum superclipping duration to around two to four seconds per lap, reducing the need for prolonged recharging. It has also expanded the number of races that can use alternative lower energy limits from eight to 12, giving more flexibility to adapt the rules to different circuit types.
The race changes are aimed less at lap time than at the speed differences that had started to worry drivers. In-race boost is now capped at +150 kW, unless the car’s power level at activation is already higher, and MGU-K output will stay at 350 kW only in key acceleration zones from corner exit to braking point, including overtaking zones. Elsewhere on the lap it will be limited to 250 kW.
That is intended to preserve overtaking while removing some of the violent closing speeds created by different energy deployment strategies. Those concerns sharpened at Suzuka, where Oliver Bearman came up rapidly on Franco Colapinto in a near-contact incident that highlighted how unpredictable the new cars could become when one car was harvesting and another was deploying.
Safety concerns at the start have prompted the most unusual addition. Miami will be used to test a new low power start detection system that identifies abnormally slow acceleration immediately after clutch release and automatically triggers MGU-K deployment to ensure a minimum level of acceleration. The FIA said the system is designed to reduce risk without creating a sporting advantage. Cars affected will also activate flashing rear and side lights to warn those behind, and the FIA has added a reset of the energy counter at the start of the formation lap to correct a system inconsistency.
Wet-weather running has also been revised after driver feedback. Intermediate tyre blanket temperatures have been increased to improve initial grip, maximum ERS deployment will be reduced to limit torque in low-grip conditions, and the rear light system has been simplified to give following drivers clearer and more consistent visual signals in spray.
The speed of the intervention underlines how quickly the 2026 rules became a political and technical issue. Drivers had warned that the new generation of cars was pushing them toward an artificial driving style and creating unsafe speed deltas. Max Verstappen, the four-time world champion, described the car as “like Mario Kart” and “like a more radicalized Formula E,” while broader criticism centered on the amount of energy saving now required.
FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said the governing body was trying to fix the weakest points without reopening the whole rule set. He described the package as “evolution and refinement, not revolution” and said the type of problem seen with Bearman at Suzuka “should be essentially avoided from the next race.” That leaves Miami as the first real test of whether Formula 1 can calm the worst side effects of its 2026 reset without changing its core direction.