F1 Driver Warns of Another 50G Crash in Las Vegas As 2026 Regulations Face Massive Changes
Williams Racing Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz has warned the sport and its governing body, the FIA, of a high-intensity crash happening in one of the street circuits, like Las Vegas, Singapore, or Baku, after Haas F1 driver Ollie Bearman suffered a 50G impact during the Japanese Grand Prix, reportedly due to the nature of the new cars. F1 entered a new era of regulations this year with cars using active aerodynamics, while the power unit is a 50-50 split between internal combustion and energy obtained from batteries. It might sound futuristic, but F1 drivers have not been liking the new system because they have to slow down their cars to harvest energy after they’ve used up their batteries.
That means after speeding down a long straight and using up all the energy, drivers downshift aggressively and brake earlier to recharge their batteries. Read More from MotorBiscuit: Los Angeles Gas Prices Are Soaring, but This Station is Still Under $5 Former F1 Presenter Will Buxton Makes Surprising “Drive to Survive” Pay Reveal Fernando Alonso’s Chilling F1 Warning Comes True at Japanese GP: “It’s an Evasive Maneuver, Not an Overtake” Atlassian Williams F1 Team on X | Carlos Sainz However, that isn’t the only problem. Since the beginning of the season, drivers have warned of an incident due to the nature of the regulations that could cause F1 cars to crash at high speeds.
Their fears materialized in Suzuka last weekend, where Bearman crashed and injured his knee. Despite Bearman’s Quick Reaction, a 50G F1 Crash Was Inevitable It all happened when Bearman was closing in on Alpine driver Franco Colapinto for an overtake on Lap 23. However, as Colapinto exited Turn 11, he slowed down to harvest energy.
Bearman, on the other hand, had significant battery left and was deploying it for the overtake. Due to the speed difference between the two cars, Bearman was forced to perform an evasive maneuver to avoid crashing into Colapinto. He swerved his car aggressively and drove on the grass, hitting the brake markers before spinning out and hitting the barriers.
While Bearman’s super quick reaction time saved him from crashing into Colapinto, Sainz brought up the topic of the new regulations in an interview after the race, highlighting how such incidents could be worse if they were to occur during street races, where there is no run-off area. Sainz, who is also the director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, was among several drivers who asked the FIA and F1 to amend the regulations to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. Speaking to the media after the race, he said: “We’ve been warning that this kind of accident was always going to happen.