F1 news: FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem admits 'unfair step' towards new rules

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FIA president admits 'unfair step' towards new F1 rules

There have been several voices calling for change to the regulations for the 2026 season

Tyler Rowlinson

Sunday 14 January 2024 08:27

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has admitted that there is an ‘unfair step’ in the new F1 regulations set to be put in place in 2026.

The new rules will see a new power unit come to the grid which will run on sustainable fuels, with three times more electrical power and 1,000+ horsepower.

The regulations have seen a number of manufacturers looking to join the sport, with Audi already confirmed as both a team and an engine supplier – replacing Sauber – with Porsche and Ford also expressing their interest.

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However, there has been some scepticism surrounding the rules from some of the current teams. Red Bull stated that they would like to see more fuel flow, with the team expressing concern after seeing how they would work in various simulations.

The new regulations for 2026 will see a new power unit and several manufacturers joining the sport

Red Bull have been vocal with their concerns about the new rules

Ben Sulayem admits 'unfair' step in regulations

But the FIA president has said that changing the rules after implementing them would be an unfair step, whilst also admitting that leaving them as they are would be unfair on the new teams joining the grid.

When asked by motorsportmagazin.com about whether he was afraid of scaring Audi away with people voicing changes about the new regulations, Ben Sulayem said: “No. We said that this is our area of responsibility.

“The FIA was already working on the power unit before my time. I will always be grateful and respectful to our engineering department.

“Once we approved the rules, the manufacturers also signed up. If we hadn't done it, neither Audi, nor Porsche, nor anyone else would have been interested in it. If you close yourself off against change and just keep everyone in their comfort zone, then new teams won't come.

The FIA president spoke of the resistance towards the rules and how it would be unfair to act on them

“Is that fair? No. We have to take this step, we have to be a little brave. We have to open up and move forward. It is normal that there was resistance.

“But then Audi signed. If there are small adjustments, the weight changes or a new material is introduced: the technology is developing every day!

“What I'm saying is: we won't lose anyone with the changes, we'll make sure we don't lose someone like Audi. We put a lot of effort into bringing them in and getting Porsche's interest.

“No, that won't be the case. Doing something and then changing it would also be unfair.

F1 FIA Audi Mohammed Ben Sulayem