FIA Single Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis has warned F1 groups in opposition to exploiting any loopholes whereas growing their 2026 automobiles. The Greek government has suggested all groups to be clear with the governing physique and in addition claimed that no leeway shall be given if any a part of their automobiles is taken into account unlawful.
F1 is coming into a brand new period from 2026 onwards, amid fully overhauled engine and aerodynamic laws which are set to return into impact subsequent yr. There was plenty of discuss which groups will emerge as the highest performers on this upcoming period by navigating the laws successfully.
Beforehand, groups have even discovered loopholes to work across the laws and achieve a bonus over the remainder of the sphere. However this time round, the FIA appears to have a stricter coverage concerning this.
FIA Single Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis has claimed it may very well be “suicidal” for any crew to develop their automotive in a method that’s thought of unlawful. He additionally suggested the groups to concur with the governing physique concerning any choices they make.
“Clearly, we are able to’t pressure groups to speak with us, however I feel it’s additionally advisable for his or her survival. In the event that they based mostly a whole automotive on an idea that might later be made unlawful, it might be a catastrophe for them,” stated Tombazis [via FormulaPassion].
“Being clear is of their greatest curiosity. On the whole, I feel the groups have discovered this lesson, which is why we went in that course,” he added.
Quite a few latest studies have prompt that Mercedes appears to have developed the quickest energy unit for 2026. If true, this may imply that their works crew, together with McLaren and Williams, might very effectively have a bonus after they begin subsequent yr.
Tombazis reveals the efforts the FIA will make to make sure equity in 2026


Nikolas Tombazis has additionally revealed that the FIA will notify every F1 crew if it believes any clarification requested by a competing outfit signifies that they could be working inside a gray space within the laws. The 57-year-old additionally drew comparisons with the notorious double diffuser controversy from 2009.
Talking to the aforementioned outlet, Tombazis defined the next:
“For any clarification requested by the groups, if we imagine that the query requested signifies a gray space with little readability, we might be certain that an an identical communication is distributed to all groups.”
He then claimed that this may enable all groups to be on the identical web page, in contrast to with the double diffuser in 2009.
“If we take the same case of the double diffuser in 2009, on the time there have been communications between the FIA and a few groups, however not with all of them. There have been due to this fact folks working with totally different interpretations of the laws,” he stated.
Tombazis then concluded by saying that the FIA’s largest precedence for the time being was to guarantee that all groups perceive the 2026 laws fully.
Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar