Helmut Marko calls on FIA to trigger urgent F1 U-turn

Former Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has called upon the FIA to bring about urgent change, even hinting a U-turn may be their best bet when it comes to amending the F1 2026 regulations.

Ahead of this year's championship, the chassis and power unit rules in F1 were completely overhauled, with the focus on electrical energy being almost tripled as the sport hopes to become Net Zero Carbon by 2030.

But this switch to make the sport more reliant on electrical energy has triggered a barrage of complaints from drivers who feel that the new power units make driving the F1 2026 cars impossible, and no one has been more vocal of their dislike of the change than Max Verstappen.

The four-time champion has labelled his RB22 'undriveable' after just three rounds in 2026, complaining that the new cars have positioned F1 as an 'anti-driving' series as opposed to the pinnacle of motorsport.

The Dutchman is even said to be'seriously considering' an early retirement over the matter, but changes could be on the way following an FIA meeting earlier this week.

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Marko hoping for swift change as Verstappen retirement threats ramp up

F1's governing body met with the teams and five power unit manufacturers' on April 9 to discuss potential changes to the highly contested power unit regulations.

This followed persistent driver complaints and a demonstration of just how dangerous the new issue of closing speeds can be after Ollie Bearman's Japanese GP crash last time out.

Further meetings have now been scheduled, with the deadline of April 20 announced for the sport's shareholders to decide on which changes can realistically be implemented in time for the Miami GP weekend.

Fans have been warned not to expect another overhaul of changes, with any developments likely to be just 'tweaks' to the existing regulations.

But the recently retired Marko believes more needs to be done, and quickly, to move away from the sport being so reliant on electrical energy again.

“It’s too complicated and the software plays too dominant a role," the Austrian complained to Kleine Zeitung.

"I don’t know if that can be rectified in a single season. Something has to be done, and driving skill must be brought back to the fore."

The new Red Bull Ring ambassador then suggested that the sport should do a U-turn on their electrical energy stance altogether, adding: “The mood among the drivers is negative.

"Changes need to be made now, and hopefully the FIA will do everything in its power to reduce the battery’s share and focus more on the combustion engine. In this respect, the two cancelled races aren’t a bad thing at all.”

When is the next F1 race?

The Japanese Grand Prix at the end of March marked the last race for over a month, with fans, drivers and teams set for a five-week long enforced break in the 2026 calendar throughout April.

After F1 opted to cancel both the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, the next race won't be until the Miami Grand Prix, with the race weekend kicking off on May 1.

The fourth round of the 2026 championship will also mark the second sprint race of the year, with a single practice session taking place on Friday, May 1, before sprint qualifying at 4:30pm local time (EDT).

Saturday, May 2 will then see the sprint race kick off at midday EDT before qualifying for the main grand prix takes place at 4pm.

Sunday, May 3 will then likely see Brundle's grid walk return before lights out for the Miami GP at 4pm EDT.

READ MORE: FIA reveals deadline for F1 2026 regulation 'tweaks'

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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