FIA chief fears F1 disagreements in 2026

FIA's Nikolas Tombazis in 2023 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 2026

FIA chief fears F1 disagreements in 2026

New regulations will change F1 in 2026

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 19 August 2025 17:57

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FIA chief Nikolas Tombazis has opened up about F1’s new regulations in 2026 and where disagreements could emerge.

Next season, the F1 order could be transformed as a completely new set of regulations are unleashed, including a 50-50 split in power-unit output, more agile cars and active aerodynamics.

Tombazis – who is the FIA’s single seater director – recently discussed the new regulations with Motorsport.com, and warned that there may be initial disagreements with new teams entering the sport.

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"We'll have new teams arriving, and at the start of a new cycle, there's always the risk of some initial differences,” he said.

What can F1 expect in 2026?

There is also a concern that with the new engine regulations, one team could dominate F1 as Mercedes did in 2014 when the new rules were established.

The Silver Arrows mastered the turbo-hybrid engines that allowed Lewis Hamilton and the team to enjoy an era of domination that resulted in seven drivers’ titles and eight constructors’ championships.

However, Tombazis remains optimistic in this regard, and does not believe one single manufacturer will hold such an advantage.

“I don’t think we’ll ever find ourselves in a situation where a single manufacturer has as big an advantage as we did in 2014,” he said.

"It's true, engines aren't as simple as we'd have liked. We wanted to go further than we've managed to do, but we've encountered a lot of resistance to simplifying the regulations.

"So there are things we'd have liked to make even simpler, but they're still simpler than the current generation of power units."

"The new power units won't have the MGU-H, and there are some things that have tighter limits. That's why we don't think the gaps will be as big as those seen in 2014."

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