Stefano Domenicali looks set to answer Lewis Hamilton’s call for F1 to consider ‘another solution’ to bring teams closer together, rather than introducing a new technical regulation shift every five years.
The F1 CEO is considering extending the technical regulation period that will commence in 2026 beyond the expected four-to-six-year lifespan after watching the field converge significantly in the third season of the ground-effect era.
When the ground-effect regulations came into effect in 2022, Red Bull quickly generated what appeared to be an insurmountable advantage. However, after dominating in 2023, the field has bunched up, and now F1 heads into every race weekend with as many as four different teams fighting for victory.
This period of extreme competition will soon come to an end as the next regulations kick in in 2026. This was a frustration of 2022 as well, with the ground-effect cars breaking up the field off the back of one of the sport’s most memorable ever seasons in 2021.
Speaking to Motorsport.com about future regulation changes, Domenicali said: “The need for change normally is put on the table for two reasons. One is because we are the pinnacle of motorsport, and we are endorsing the top level of technology.
“The second in the past was that, because it was pretty clear: the objective was stopping a dominance period of cars. But now with the new elements of regulations, budget cap and aerodynamics restrictions, I think that this point is not anymore on the table of discussion.
“So the real thing is technological challenge in the future. Is it relevant that the change will be in such a short time cycle of five years? That will be the point of discussion for the future.”
This pragmatic approach will come as good news to Hamilton, who has previously expressed his frustration with both the lack of tools available to close the gap between cars during regulation periods, and the frequency with which F1 rips up its rulebook for a new approach
“I think we’re now finally in a really exciting part of this season where the top five particularly are so close,” he said earlier this summer. “And that’s what you want to see from the beginning. And obviously 2026 it will spice it all over again. And then it’s just a catch-up game for those that don’t hit targets and do as well as others.
“So maybe you need to look at another solution of how you level the playing field somehow through that phase quicker. So obviously, teams further at the back have more wind tunnel time. I don’t know what the solution is, but is there a way of somehow helping the ones further back level off earlier?
“So it’s not towards an end of a design era for example. But I think it will be really interesting. If 2026 does exactly the same thing as it always has done, then they do need to probably revisit and look at something else.”
