Mercedes on new F1 rules: 'People were critical back then, but look at how epic 2021 was'

15:35, 25 Aug

Co-author:Norberto Mujica

byNicole Mulder

The new Formula 1 regulations for 2026 are on the horizon, but the initial experiences from the simulators are not unanimously positive. According to Bradley Lord, team representative of Mercedes, this is a recognizable pattern with major rule changes. In conversation with a select group of media, including GPblog, he explains why fans and drivers do not need to fear the changes, according to him.

Lord: 'Just look at 2021, that was an epic season'

The worries expressed by some drivers remind Lord of 2014, when the hybrid engines made their debut.

"If we look back at the initial stages of 2014 there was a lot of comment and a lot of outcry about disparities in performance, lack of reliability, lack of noise, the racing being compromised and we have seen during this era of Formula 1 some of the most epic seasons that there have been in the history of the sport.

"If we think back to a season like 2021 as performance deltas have closed between teams over time," he says.

According to Lord, it's normal for people to focus on the disadvantages of big changes, rather than on the benefits.

"It's normal that when rules change, human beings in general are resistant to change" the Brit continues.

"[We] tend to focus as much on what we've lost as what has been gained.

"So we are in a phase now where the rules are still being fine-tuned and tweaked and are evolving in order to make sure that the racing spectacle that we deliver in 2026, it will be different but to make sure it's entertaining, compelling and not a backward step in any way on what we have today."

Mercedes Media

The team representative of Mercedes emphasizes that progress is being made weekly in the simulations. Drivers play a key role in this.

"Talking to the drivers, talking to Valtteri who's been in the sim for example, he said that by the time we get to the start of next season it won't be the same as it has been this year but we'll be in a situation where it will be something that feels very familiar and the focus is on how do we extract more performance, how can we overtake here, how can we optimise lap time rather than anything else."

Lord sees the introduction of the new rules as a joint journey for all involved in the sport.

"I think we will all be going on a journey as stakeholders and fans of Formula 1 to understand the racing and to explain that to the fans as well and what's changing and why it's changing. But still very much, Melbourne 2026, it will be Formula 1 as we know it ," he clarifies.

"And when the lights go out it will be racing as we know it and we will see people fighting tooth and nail to win the Grand Prix.."