» » » » FIA to assess F1 2026 regulations after Oliver Bearman crash at Suzuka highlights 'closing speeds' issue

 


The FIA has confirmed meetings will take place in April to discuss Formula 1's new regulations following Oliver Bearman's crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Bearman went onto the grass and spun at over 190mph when trying to avoid Alpine's Franco Colapinto, who was slowing down on the flat-out run towards Spoon Curve, going across the track and hitting the barriers hard with a 50G impact.

The British driver gingerly climbed out of his car as he suffered a right knee contusion following the impact but was cleared of any further injuries.

The difference in speed between Bearman and Colapinto was a major talking point following Sunday's race at Suzuka and Bearman puts it down to the new 2026 regulations which sees cars slow down to harvest energy at the end of straights.

"It was a massive overspeed, 50kph, which is a real… it's a part of these new regulations that I guess we have to get used to, but also I felt like I wasn't really given much space given the huge excess speed that I was carrying," he said.

"It's something that we spoke about on Friday with the other drivers and the stewards, that we need to be a bit more lenient, a bit more prepared because of these huge deltas in speed.

"I think we've, as a group, warned the FIA what can happen, and this has been a really unfortunate result of a massive delta speed that we've never seen before in F1 until these new regulations."

The FIA put out a statement to provide "clarifications" and said "any speculation regarding the nature of potential changes would be premature".

"Since their introduction, the 2026 regulations have been the subject of ongoing discussions between the FIA, teams, power unit manufacturers, drivers and FOM," it added.

"By design, these regulations include a number of adjustable parameters, particularly in relation to energy management, which allow for optimisation based on real-world data.

"It has been the consistent position of all stakeholders that a structured review would take place after the opening phase of the season, to allow for sufficient data to be gathered and analysed. A number of meetings are therefore scheduled in April to assess the operation of the new regulations and to determine whether any refinements are required.

"Any potential adjustments, particularly those related to energy management, require careful simulation and detailed analysis. The FIA will continue to work in close and constructive collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcome for the sport and safety will always remain a core element of the FIA's mission."

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