FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says Friday’s meeting with the Formula 1 drivers, as revealed by PlanetF1.com, was constructive with the drivers offering “invaluable input” ahead of Monday’s crunch regulation talks.

The FIA, Formula One Management, the Formula 1 team bosses, and the power unit manufacturers are set to meet on Monday to discuss the new regulations – notably those relating to the power units.

FIA and drivers discuss F1 2026 rule changes

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Energy management and deployment rules have been a bone of contention for the drivers, who are not happy about lifting-and-coasting during qualifying to harvest battery power, nor super clipping at the end of the straights to harvest battery power from the combustion engine.

From poor starts to fake overtakes, both dependent on battery levels at the time, this year’s racing has been called artificial and fake. “Mario Kart”, including the “mushroom boost”.

The latter saw Oliver Bearman limp away from a huge crash at the Japanese Grand Prix when he was caught unaware by his closing speed to Franco Colapinto and had to take avoiding action. It ended with his Haas sideways in his barrier, the impact recorded at 50G.

But while Lewis Hamilton feared the drivers would not have a say ahead of Monday’s meeting, telling the media that they “don’t have a say, they don’t any power,” PlanetF1.com understood that a particularly collaborative meeting between the FIA and the drivers was held on Friday.

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Sources at the time indicated that it was “extremely positive” in reaching common ground over how to proceed with rules tweaks.

FIA president Ben Sulayem has confirmed just that.

“I am delighted to report that there has been constructive and collaborative discussion between the FIA and the Formula 1 drivers ahead of tomorrow’s [Monday’s] CEOs and team principals meeting to discuss potential changes to the 2026 Regulations,” he said in a brief statement.

“The drivers have provided invaluable input on adjustments which they feel should be made, particularly in the areas of energy management to ensure safe, fair and competitive racing.

“The FIA has also held a series of meetings over the past few weeks with technical representatives from the teams, power unit manufacturers and FOM to discuss proposed changes. Safety and the best interests of the sport are the main focus of these discussions.

“Following the meeting, the final proposals will be put before a FIA WMSC e-vote.”

It’s understood that the drivers and the FIA agreed several key changes during Friday’s meeting, however, it is Monday’s meeting that will be the deciding factor.

Grand Prix Drivers’ Association director George Russell is hopeful.

He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets on Friday, “This break offered a good opportunity for everyone to go around that loop.

“The FIA has been in a lot of comms with a handful of drivers, and that’s been sort of collective, and at least from the FIA technical standpoint, it’s probably the closest relationship we’ve had with them in numerous years. So that’s very positive to see.

“There will be a compromise somewhere because, right now, the cars are set up to produce the fastest lap times possible, which is leading to this lift and coast driving style and a bit of energy management here and there, but there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit.

“For example, the minus 350-kilowatt super clip is a no-brainer, and that already, in itself, is going to avoid a lot of lift and coast.

“There are other small parts of the regulation that say you can only derate the engine at a certain rate, so on a very short straight, there isn’t enough time to go from 350 kilowatts to a super clip because the straight is too short.

“Some small changes around these regulations will have a major improvement for the overall sort of driving experience.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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