The FIA may not want to make changes to the F1 regulations yet following the successful sprint weekend in China. After the opening race in Melbourne, the new cars were still fully under discussion. Following that, the FIA announced it would meet with the teams after the Chinese GP about possible adjustments. After the predominantly positive reactions in Shanghai – especially from the fans – the organization seems to want to wait a bit longer before intervening.
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During the race weekend in China, many positive sounds were heard about the modified F1 regulations. Fans and media were very satisfied with the racing spectacle, especially at the front. Within the driver field, opinions remain divided: the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers, who were miles ahead of the competition all weekend, are logically enthusiastic. “You can follow each other much better and get much closer to each other,” said Hamilton, who recorded his first Ferrari podium on Sunday. Colleague Leclerc also spoke of a ‘very fun’ race.
Protecting the product
Max Verstappen – who returned home without points after a mediocre qualifying and a late retirement – was a lot less positive. “If you like this, you don’t know what racing is,” was his bitter reaction. Behind the scenes, he says he is working closely with the FIA to implement adjustments to the regulations and, in his words, ‘protect the product’. Prior to the season, it was already announced that the FIA and FOM had planned an evaluation meeting with the team bosses after China to discuss the first impressions of the new regulations and see if immediate changes were needed.
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Reportedly, however, that meeting will have a different approach. According to The Race, a meeting with all technical directors – planned for the second week after Japan – will now be leading when it comes to possible adjustments to the regulations. There would then be enough time to work out points for improvement in the run-up to the Miami GP in May. The British medium mentions three reasons for this: the positive reactions after China, the fact that Australia gave a distorted picture of current Formula 1 due to the unique characteristics of the circuit, and that the cancellation of the Grands Prix in the Middle East offers more space to carefully look for solutions. After all, there are no races on the calendar throughout April.
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