Formula One bosses unveil rule changes following driver criticism

By Philip Duncan, Press Association F1 Correspondent

Formula One chiefs have agreed to make changes to the sport’s rulebook following major criticism of the new regulations which have cast doubt over Max Verstappen’s future.

Four-time world champion Verstappen has been vocal in his dislike of the rules, a 50-50 split between combustion and electrical power, which place an onus on drivers managing their battery, effectively slowing down on a qualifying lap, and ‘gimmicks’, such as a boost button to overtake.

Verstappen has been the strongest critic among the grid’s drivers while a number of fans have also vented their frustrations online.

Following a summit between F1, its regulator the FIA, and the sport’s team principals on Monday, tweaks, and not sweeping changes, have been finalised and are set to be introduced for the next round in Miami on May 3rd.

Energy harvesting – which helps the driver charge the battery – will be reduced from eight megajoules to seven – and the hybrid power unit will be increased from 250kw to 350kw. Both changes are aimed at allowing the drivers to go flat-out for longer in qualifying, rather than having to lift off the throttle as regularly on a fast lap.

After British driver Ollie Bearman’s 191mph crash at the last round in Japan – which was blamed partly on the difference in closing speeds – the boost button will now be capped at 150kw, and the MGU-K in straightline zones will be set at 350kw and 250kw when the driver is not in a straightline zone. It is hoped the measures will help avoid a repeat of Bearman’s harrowing accident.

Further discussions are set to follow after the round in Miami with F1 chiefs aware the changes will not solve all of the drivers’ concerns.

Mercedes have hit the ground running so far, and team principal Toto Wolff warned against sweeping changes to the rulebook. Kimi Antonelli heads team-mate George Russell by nine points in the standings after the first three races.

Speaking prior to the outcome of the meeting, Wolff said: “The discussions that have been taking place between the drivers, the FIA, Formula One, and the teams have been constructive. And we all share the same objectives.

“It’s how can we improve the product, make it out-and-out racing, and look at what can improve in terms of safety, but act with a scalpel and not with a baseball bat.

“We are going to ratify, in order to evolve, because there has only been three races. We need to learn from the past, where decisions were sometimes made in an erratic way, and then we overshot and realised it wasn’t good.

“We are custodians of the sport and we have many hundreds of thousands of fans that love F1. In order to protect this huge opportunity that the sport gives us, we shouldn’t badmouth in public our own sport.”

The season resumes in Miami after an enforced five-week break following the cancellation of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia due to the conflict in the Middle East.