What the Hell is Going on With Formula 1?

About this episode

The episode discusses the controversial changes in Formula 1 for the 2026 season and the FIA's attempts to address the backlash.

This is what: Three races into 2026, the FIA is trying to fix what it broke. Because everyone hates it. (Ross goes on a rant in this one! Ross *never* goes on rants!) Here’s a joke: A former IndyCar driver and a former Road & Track editor walk into a bar. When they walk out, they never want to hear the words “megajoule” or “superclipping” again. (Okay, it’s not a joke. Gag me with a kilowatt spoon.) F1 changed much for 2026: new car dimensions and weights; new powerplant configurations; updated aero; narrower tires; some team shake-ups and arrivals. And the racing became obnoxious. Over the last three races, that last bit has been all anyone can talk about. Drivers and teams hate the new order as much as anyone. With that in mind, the FIA executed a rare midseason rule revamp—rule updates effective from this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix. These updates won’t fix the series; too much is baked into how the cars have been designed and engineered. But at this point, we’ll take it. *** This episode was produced by Sam Smith. As always, thanks to our friends at BFGoodrich for supporting the show! ** Who We Are + Spicy Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ItsNotTheCar.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ **…

People in this episode

Hosts: Sam Smith, Ross Bentley, Jeff Braun

Topics covered

• Formula 1
• FIA regulations
• 2026 season changes
• racing dynamics
• team changes
• driver feedback

Keywords

• Formula 1
• FIA
• 2026 season
• racing
• car dimensions
• powerplant configurations
• aero updates
• team shake-ups
• Miami Grand Prix

Sponsors

BFGoodrich

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: FIA

Books & works: Smithology: Thoughts

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