FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem speaks out against criticism of the 2026 regulations. The Emirati explains how each team was given the same amount of time to prepare for racing under the new rules. Ben Sulayem therefore notices that ‘only those who are behind’ criticize the rules. “Have you heard Mercedes or Ferrari complain? No, of course not,” says the FIA President.
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The FIA announced the current F1 regulations a year after Mohammed Ben Sulayem was appointed president in 2021. Meanwhile, Formula 1 has held several Grands Prix under these 2026 rules, and not everyone is satisfied with the new way of racing that comes with them.
According to Ben Sulayem, however, this criticism mainly comes from teams that are less competitive under the new rules. “When I took over, it was 2022 – the agreement was signed in August 2022,” the president recalls to Forbes about the early days of the current regulations. “But the regulations were not developed within eight months. There was a total of eighteen months of discussions with all teams, and then it was implemented.”
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‘Only teams that are behind complain’
“Everyone had the same amount of time: if you look at August 2022 and then the implementation during the first test they did in Barcelona this year, that was enough time for everyone,” Ben Sulayem continues. “Some had a problem with the car – some with the power unit and some with the chassis – but it is amazing how only those who are behind complain. Have you heard Mercedes or Ferrari complain? No, of course not. It’s a cycle.”
According to the Emirati, a changing pecking order is simply part of Formula 1. “Today there is someone who is so good, and then everyone wants to take his place. And those are the competitors, who are competitive. But the criticism only comes from the people who perhaps have not executed the regulations so well,” says Ben Sulayem.
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