During this morning's Japanese Grand Prix, Haas' Ollie Bearman was involved in a high-speed crash that saw him go into the grass and spin off the track at over 190mph after attempting to avoid a collision with the slower-moving Franco Colapinto (who drives for Alpine).
After hitting the barriers with a 50G impact, Bearman was shown limping from the car before nearly collapsing to the ground. Fortunately, he only suffered a right knee contusion and no breaks or fractures.
The crash has been a major talking point in the hours since then, and the Haas driver has now broken his silence on why he believes the controversial new 2026 regulations—which force cars to slow down on corners to harvest energy at the end of straights—are to blame.
"It was a massive overspeed, 50kph, which is a real...it's a part of these new regulations that I guess we have to get used to, but also I felt like I wasn't really given much space given the huge excess speed that I was carrying," he said.
"It's something that we spoke about on Friday with the other drivers and the stewards, that we need to be a bit more lenient, a bit more prepared because of these huge deltas in speed," Bearman continued. "I think we've, as a group, warned the FIA what can happen, and this has been a really unfortunate result of a massive delta speed that we've never seen before in F1 until these new regulations."
The FIA has since issued a statement, and started by writing, "Following the accident involving Oliver Bearman at the Japanese Grand Prix and the contribution of high closing speeds in the accident, the FIA would like to provide the following clarifications."
"Since their introduction, the 2026 regulations have been the subject of ongoing discussions between the FIA, teams, power unit manufacturers, drivers and FOM. By design, these regulations include a number of adjustable parameters, particularly in relation to energy management, which allow for optimisation based on real-world data."
"It has been the consistent position of all stakeholders that a structured review would take place after the opening phase of the season, to allow for sufficient data to be gathered and analysed. A number of meetings are therefore scheduled in April to assess the operation of the new regulations and to determine whether any refinements are required."
"Any potential adjustments, particularly those related to energy management, require careful simulation and detailed analysis. The FIA will continue to work in close and constructive collaboration with all stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcome for the sport and safety will always remain a core element of the FIA's mission."
Multiple drivers have also chimed in, all of whom have made their dissatisfaction and concerns with the 2026 F1 regulations clear to Formula 1 and the FIA. Throw in general unhappiness from fans, and it's clear that these sweeping changes to the sport have been nearly a total misfire.
Not much can be done this year, though at least some tweaks can be made. The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekends have been cancelled because of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, so there's time for F1 and the FIA to work with drivers and teams to get the ball rolling.