Stefano Domenicali has asserted that Formula 1 “has not any problems” amid rule tweaks to be introduced at next weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.
The F1 Commission has proposed a swathe of tweaks to the incumbent technical rule-set in response to the concerns raised by the stakeholders, only three races into the 2026 campaign.
These rule changes, subject to ratification by the World Motor Sport Council, are scheduled to come into play from the Miami GP onwards.
That said, F1 CEO Domenicali is still defiant that the sport doesn’t have any major problems, as has been insinuated, and rather, has only taken incremental steps to perfect an already strong package.
“I think this is not a problem of resolving the problem of Formula 1,” he asserted.
“Formula 1 has not any problems, Formula 1 is in great shape, just to make sure that is clear to everyone.
“And the vast majority of fans have been, since the beginning, very positive [about] what they see in terms of race action.
“You [the media] are the experts on this matter. But we are getting sometimes too philosophical or too technical in things that the vast majority of people do not perceive.”
The Italian was adamant that noise surrounding the new power unit regulations was just blowing out of proportion the natural course of action F1 would have taken with any new rule change cycle.
“So I do believe that this focus will stay in the right forum, because it’s the nature of F1 to discuss and be able to improve,” he explained. “But it shouldn’t be at the centre of the focus for the vast majority of fans.
Driver criticism a lesson learned the hard way for F1 says Domenicali
The discontent with the current rule-set is not prevalent only in the media or with the fans online.
Many drivers have spoken up about the “artificial” and unconventional racing that these 2026 cars have produced.
The likes of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and defending World Champion Lando Norris have all taken a swipe – mostly with Mario Kart references but the concerns remain very critical.
Domenicali calls this a “lesson learned”: the hard way as he would seemingly put it.
“There’s been too much focus on comments on certain drivers that have been taking a lot of discussion of the hardcore fans in that direction,” the former Ferrari man surmised.
“That is something that is a lesson learned. These kinds of things should have been handled in a different way. That’s for sure.
“Not because you don’t need to cover anything, because there are so many positive elements – and I once again go back to the things that is stating the obvious.
“This change was needed to keep Formula 1 relevant in the ecosystem of motorsport. Otherwise, we forget the genesis of everything.
“So that is the only thing that [is a] lesson learned. I think that the focus of people that are responsible of our sport was taken out in the wrong place. That’s what I can say. Yes, definitely so.”
In the build-up to the Miami GP, F1 has already put plans in place to accommodate the upcoming rule tweaks with an extended FP1 session at the Miami International Autodrome, next Friday.
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