F1 returns at Miami after a 5-week break as FIA rolls out rule changes
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Formula 1 returns to action at the Miami Grand Prix following an unexpected five-week break when a pair of races in the Middle East were called off because of the war in Iran. The time off gave the FIA time to make changes to the regulations that drivers heavily criticized after the first three races of the year because of how the electrical battery power has changed the cars and competition.
Will it help? “It's a tickle,” said Max Verstappen, who has been so vocal about his dislike of the current cars that he's openly considering leaving F1. “It's not what we need yet to really make it flat out.
It's complicated to get everyone to agree,” he continued. “I just hope for next year we can make really big, big changes. Like I said, it's a tickle, but it needs to be more than a tickle, for sure.
” Drivers won't be able to truly get a feel for the changes until Friday when practice begins, so everything they have learned so far has been limited to simulator work. While the drivers were able to offer opinions on how the FIA should attack the complaints about the car, they aren't sure how much influence they really had. “The fact is, we don’t have a seat at the table.
We do engage with the FIA and F1 more often,” said seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. "We’re not stakeholders. I say to them, when I was doing the early tests, I was like, ‘You guys should come and speak to us and collaborate with us.