FIA and F1 urged to act as "independent voice" ahead of critical regulation talks

The FIA and Formula 1 have been urged to assert themselves as a strong, independent and neutral authority as fresh talks over the 2026 regulations intensify.

The urgency has sharpened following Oliver Bearman’s heavy crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, an incident that has amplified criticism of the current cars and their behaviour.

Focus shifts to Qualifying performance

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 after the Suzuka weekend, Bernie Collins suggested that much of the current debate has centred on qualifying rather than race conditions.

"There's lots of discussion," she said. "Well, actually, annoyingly, I think the discussion has been centred on how we can improve qualifying."

Collins outlined two principal avenues under consideration. One would involve reducing the amount of battery energy drivers can charge or deploy during a lap — a move that would likely increase reliance on the internal combustion engine.

However, she warned that such a change would slow overall lap times.

"It's more like what we had last year, which would reduce overall lap time, which is maybe not great."

An alternative would be increasing fuel flow to rebalance the power unit characteristics and shift emphasis back toward the combustion engine.

"You could increase the fuel flow, which is one way of doing it, so that the engine produces more of the power," Collins explained.

That, she suggested, could bring the racing closer to last season’s dynamic and reduce extreme differences in closing speeds, as drivers would not need to harvest as aggressively into the battery.

Competitive fairness concerns

Yet Collins was clear that regulatory tweaks of this scale would not affect the grid evenly.

"The difficulty with increasing the fuel flow — there are a few difficulties," she said, before outlining the competitive implications. "One is that it is not going to evenly affect all the teams. So some teams will have more of an ability to do that than others, because they've all got different fuels."

She added that cooling systems, engine characteristics and even fuel tank capacity could limit certain teams’ ability to adapt.

"Some teams will not have their radiators set up for that. Their engine may not react well with that. Their fuel tank, for the race, may not be big enough to do that. So there are lots of issues."

Beyond the technical obstacles lies a structural challenge within the F1 Commission itself. Collins stressed that teams inevitably arrive at the table with competitive self-interest in mind.

"Everyone’s going to come, and I think what Carlos [Sainz] is alluding to there is that every team comes with their agenda."

While safety and improved racing are shared priorities, she acknowledged the reality of political positioning.

"Yes, of course, we want to improve the racing. Yes, of course, we want to make it as safe as we possibly can; that should be front and foremost all the time. But every team knows if they have an advantage or disadvantage with the rule that they are suggesting and putting forward... of course, that happens."

Her remarks echo concerns raised by Sainz that driver perspectives risk being overshadowed by competitive manoeuvring within the sport’s governance structure.

Call for strong independent leadership

Karun Chandhok reinforced the need for decisive oversight from the governing bodies.

"And that’s why it needs a strong, independent voice," he said. "That's what he is saying: The FIA and F1 are, and should be, the independent voice..."

He underlined the importance of neutrality in shaping the outcome of the talks.

"To Bernie's point, I think it's a neutral voice that needs to be strong enough to come up with ideas here."

As the April meetings approach, the spotlight now falls squarely on the FIA and Formula 1 to balance safety, sporting integrity and competitive fairness — while resisting the inevitable pull of team agendas.