Lewis Hamilton's F1 boss demands 'clarity' over 2026 problems

Ferrari F1 boss Fred Vasseur has called for 'clarity' from the FIA over the new regulations, ahead of the 2026 season opener in Australia next month.

Wholesale rule changes are sweeping into the sport in 2026, both when it comes to chassis rules, and on the power unit side of things, and teams have been scrambling to try and get ahead of their competitors amid the changes.

F1 and the FIA gave teams a maximum of nine days of pre-season testing this year to allow them to iron out any issues they might have had with the new rules, and the final three-day event is currently taking place in Bahrain.

But it's underway amid a number of meetings between the F1 commission and the power unit advisory commission (PUAC), following some controversy regarding the new power unit rules.

Mercedes have found a clever quirk within their power unit design which allows their geometric compression ratio to be at the allowed 16:1 when the engine is cool, but at the previously allowed 18:1 when the car is going along, causing the other power unit manufacturers to complain that this could be bending the rules too far.

Toto Wolff said this was only worth around two or three extra brake horsepower (bhp), but Red Bull's Max Verstappen alleged it could be more like 20-30bhp, which would allow for an extra 0.3 seconds in lap time per lap.

During the first day of the second week of testing in Bahrain, the FIA announced that a proposal had been put forward that would mean the ratios are measured both at high and ambient temperatures, with power unit manufacturers due to vote on whether to introduce that rule or not. An outcome is expected to be announced 'within the next 10 days'.

Prior to this week's vote confirmation, Ferrari boss Vasseur jumped into the debate, saying there needs to be clarity given on not just this issue, but other quirks within the wholesale regulations reset.

"With the new regulations on the battery, on the engine, on the chassis, on the tyres and the sporting regs, we were going into the direction where we have grey areas," Vasseur told media in Bahrain.

"There were different understandings of the regulations from teams to teams, and sometimes from teams to the FIA. It's a direct consequence of the new regulation, and it was always like this.

"The most important for me is to get clarity. Everybody can accept that we made mistakes, or we didn't have the same understanding before.

"But what we need is to have it clear cut that it’s now 'like this'. I think it's what we can expect from next week."

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Can Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton challenge for title in 2026?

Vasseur's driver Lewis Hamilton is under immense pressure in 2026 to prove his worth to the Maranello-based outfit, after being signed on a big-money deal in 2025.

His first season with Ferrari didn't yield a single grand prix podium, while Hamilton finished a whopping 86 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in the drivers' championship.

If Hamilton is to prove to Ferrari that they should spend big to give him a contract extension for 2027 and beyond, then he will need to vastly improve his driver performance, or Ferrari will opt for somebody younger and cheaper in their second seat, like Ollie Bearman.

Hamilton will hope that Ferrari's SF-26 is much more competitive than their car last year, but even if it is, he will be judged on how he fares compared to team-mate Leclerc.

An eighth title will be a possibility if he can defeat Leclerc and prove that he can still cut it up against the likes of Verstappen, Lando Norris and George Russell for race victories.

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