F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali is assured that the sector will shortly converge following the foundations overhaul in 2026.
The 2 most up-to-date, important overhauls led to at least one workforce dominating for a number of years earlier than their rivals started to catch them. Mercedes caught its rivals on the hop in 2014, whereas Pink Bull had the benefit in 2022.
2024 noticed Pink Bull lose out to McLaren within the constructor standings, the Austrian outfit slipping to 3rd as Ferrari additionally benefitted from the foundations stability.
This 12 months we hope for extra of the identical, nonetheless the large overhaul in 2026 has many fearing that the game will see only one workforce or producer getting it proper as rivals are compelled to play catch-up but once more.
Not so, insists Domenicali.
“When there’s a new regulation it’s at all times like that,” he tells Autosprint. “I do not overlook that when the 2022 laws have been launched, the groups complained that the single-seaters can be six seconds slower.
“We arrived in 4 years at a really robust convergence,” he continues. “Now we begin once more with a distinct regulation, with numerous new challenges and various things to fine-tune.
“Firstly we cannot have this sort of hole it could be unrealistic to suppose that. However the way in which the 2026 regulation is designed, the convergence will come.”
The 2026 overhaul is not restricted to the vehicles, which shall be lighter, narrower and shorter, for the engine laws additionally change, with energy cut up evenly between the ICE and the electrical elements, as the game seeks to develop into ever extra environmentally pleasant.
Mercedes received the 2014 (engine) guidelines overhaul bang on, however once more Domenicali is assured of convergence, particularly with the finances caps in place.
“There are lots of points that may develop,” he admits. “It’s regular that, from the standpoint of the groups, there’s a conservative method.
“I’m not frightened,” he insists. “A number of new constructors are coming in, favoured by these technological modifications that serve to maintain the evolutionary and optimistic rigidity of those that see our system as a growth platform for the longer term. We have to take a look at the entire image and never the element. We have to suppose large.”
