F1: Tombazis Defends 2026 Car Rules Overhaul

Despite drivers expressing a need to adapt their driving styles, Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA's Director for Single-Seater formula, maintains that Formula 1 cars should not be easy to handle.

Many drivers on the 2026 F1 grid, from seasoned veterans and world champions to newer competitors, have voiced concerns that the latest generation of cars necessitates a significant shift in their driving approach.

Lando Norris, the reigning 2025 world champion, is among several who have stated that the 2026 car is the most challenging to control in his entire Formula 1 career.

While Nikolas Tombazis acknowledges these sentiments, he firmly believes that F1 cars are designed to be demanding.

"They are still quite difficult cars to drive for the drivers, which I think is good, that they're not just cars that anybody can drive," Tombazis stated, as reported by Autosport. "Some of the aerodynamic regulations push towards teams not being able to address every single aspect of a car through a corner, and therefore they do have some challenges."

He further elaborated, "But I think when we have the 22 best drivers in the world, we should also have cars that are not exactly easy for my grandma to drive."

Beyond a reduced wheelbase and narrower dimensions, the 2026 cars are 30kg lighter than their predecessors. Looking ahead to future regulation cycles, Tombazis indicated a desire for even greater weight reduction.

"The cars are a bit lighter and a bit smaller, which the drivers have appreciated," he commented on the current cars. "Now, is that where I would like us to be? No," he admitted. "I would like us to be another 80 kilos lighter, and maybe still a bit shorter and a bit smaller in the future."

"That's the sort of target, that we do another big step from what was possible to do now. I think this is not a bad step, but it's not like I'm saying, 'Yes, job done, that's the target'. We want to go to another step of lightness in the future, and also the weight, a significant step."

"This is the first time I think Formula 1 cars have become lighter since probably the year 2000, I would say at least, or maybe earlier."

While the power unit regulations are a focal point of much of the current discussion and ongoing development, Tombazis is optimistic about the direction of the car regulations themselves.

"Although one should never assume that the job is finished, I do think cars follow each other more closely," he observed.

"I believe we are similar to where we were at the start of the 2022 championship," he added, "but I think it's a bit more robust this year. The various aerodynamic solutions they've had, we haven't found something that has broken the concept, whereas in the previous regulations there were a few things that actually did significantly compromise the concept."

"That mainly relates to the front wing endplates in the last generation car, the floor edges and all the furniture on the front wheel. All of those things made the wake characteristics significantly worse. We learned from that and I think hopefully there isn't any equivalent issue."