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Toto Wolff calls for careful F1 rule changes
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says Formula 1 should make precise adjustments to its 2026 regulations rather than overreact, as teams, the FIA and F1 prepare for a key meeting to discuss improving the sport’s current direction.
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Formula 1’s new era has faced growing scrutiny after the opening races of the season, with concerns raised over both the on-track spectacle and safety.
Drivers have criticised the way the latest cars must be managed in qualifying, where lifting off and harvesting energy through corners has often become more important than pushing flat-out. Race weekends have also produced so-called “yo-yo racing”, where fluctuating energy levels heavily influence battles and overtaking chances.
Safety has become another major talking point following Oliver Bearman’s heavy accident in Japan, where a large speed difference to the car ahead played a role in the incident.
With Bahrain and Saudi Arabia removed from the calendar, the current April gap has given Formula 1 stakeholders time to review the situation. A major meeting involving the FIA, F1 and team bosses is set for Monday, April 20, where possible solutions are expected to be discussed.
Speaking before the talks, Wolff stressed that everyone involved is working toward the same outcome, but warned against making drastic changes too quickly.
“I must say that the discussions that have been taking place between the group of drivers, the FIA, F1 and the teams have been constructive. We all share the same objectives. It’s how can we improve the product, make it make it out and out racing and look at what can we improve in terms of safety, but act with a scalpel and not with a baseball bat,” Wolff said, as quoted by RacingNews365.com.
“We are coming to good solutions that we're going to ratify, hopefully today, in order to evolve. It’s only three races in and in a way, we need to learn from the past, where sometimes decisions were made in an erratic way, and then we overshot and realised it wasn't good. We are custodians of this sport, and in that respect, I am carefully optimistic that we're going to improve the racing whilst protecting what's really good,” the Mercedes boss added.
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