F1 CEO Squashes 2026 Concerns - 'We Need To Think Big'

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali explained that the 2026 regulations are structured to eventually bring the grid together, despite an expected initial performance spread.

F1 teams experienced a tightly packed grid last year, with competition expected to intensify further this season.

The 2026 reset will bring a huge shift as new cars are set to alter the balance of power on the grid. Domenicali has urged concerned parties to look at the big picture and "think big."

Domenicali cited the example of the current ground effect era, which Red Bull has mostly dominated since the period's inception in 2022. The first two years featured a spread-out grid, revealing Red Bull's dominance in the technical race.

However, the 2024 season saw the Milton Keynes outfit lose out on the top spot in the Constructors' Championship, and teams like McLaren and Ferrari are expected to emerge as the favorites this season.

The 2026 era will introduce more compact Formula 1 cars with smaller wheels and an equal balance of combustion and electric power. The cars will feature active aerodynamic elements on both front and rear wings.

Despite this being Formula 1's biggest technical overhaul in decades, Domenicali remains confident that the grid's performance will eventually converge. He told Autosprint, as quoted by Motorsportweek.com:

“I don’t forget that when the 2022 regulations were introduced, the teams complained that the single-seaters would be six seconds slower.

“We arrived in four years at a very strong convergence.

“Now we start again with a different regulation, with a lot of new challenges and different things to fine-tune.

“At the beginning we won’t have this kind of gap, it would be unrealistic to think that. But the way the F1 2026 regulation is designed, the convergence will come.”

The F1 CEO acknowledged the challenges posed by the scale of the changes but stressed that he isn't concerned, viewing them as part of the natural process. He shared his confidence that the grid will eventually converge, though the F1 teams are progressing one step at a time. Urging everyone to focus on the bigger picture, he added:

“I am not worried.

“There are many issues that will develop.

“It is normal that, from the point of view of the teams, there is a conservative approach.

“Several new constructors are coming in, favoured by these technological changes that serve to keep the evolutionary and positive tension of those who see our formula as a development platform for the future.

“We need to look at the whole picture and not the detail. We need to think big.”