The first three races of Formula 1’s new 2026 era have delivered excitement, unpredictability—and a set of structural problems serious enough to trigger an unusually rapid regulatory response.

Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, the FIA and Formula One Management confirmed a package of technical and operational tweaks designed to address the most urgent issues: extreme closing‑speed differentials, overly complex energy‑management behaviour in qualifying, and inconsistent drivability across circuits.

On Thursday in Miami, drivers broadly welcomed the changes. None of them pretended the tweaks would magically fix the underlying limitations of the 2026 power units, but the tone was clear: collaboration is working, and the sport is moving in the right direction.

Williams driver Carlos Sainz emphasised the significance of the collective effort behind the changes rather than the scale of the changes themselves.

“Well, just simply happy that there was a reaction from FIA, FOM, drivers, teams. We all sat down together and tried to obviously improve the situation.

"I don’t believe we will come up with a magic bullet here that will suddenly change everything, but I think all the changes are sensible and hopefully going to make things a bit more enjoyable from our part.”

Sainz also stressed that the next phase will be evaluation rather than celebration: “Whether it will make a big difference or not, we will obviously have the next few races to analyse, adapt and see if we need to do further changes.”

Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who has been vocal about the learning curve imposed by the new regulations, echoed Sainz’s measured optimism.

“Yeah, I think obviously as Carlos said, it’s not that with this change, all of a sudden everything’s going to be a lot better, but I think it’s a good first step in the right direction.”

He underlined that the process is ongoing: “Of course, we’ll see how much we can push this further, these changes, but obviously we’re trying to work collectively for the sport as well. But I think it’s a good first step in the right direction and we’ll see what the next one will be.”

Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar highlighted the speed with which the FIA reacted—something drivers have long asked for: “I mean, it’s good that after only three races we’ve been able to have a change, so this early is very positive. It shows that they’re working hard and listening to us to improve the situation.”

But he also warned that Miami may not be the best test case: “I don’t think it’s the most representative track. I don’t think it’s a challenging track for the power units we have. I think it’s going to look good, but on some other tracks it’s definitely going to be harder.”

Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg praised the collaborative process and pointed to the practical benefits for qualifying: “Yeah, I think there was some good work done between FIA, everyone involved and actually some of the drivers as well.

"Obviously in the spirit of safety, closing speeds, being able to push more in quali laps, opening quali laps, everything a little bit less complicated, more user‑friendly, more pushy in quali.”

He expects teams to face a fresh learning curve: “So yes, a little bit of a reset for here, I suppose, for everyone to learn again about it on track… real life may be still slightly different in a way sometimes, so curious to see how it feels and how it goes.”

Cadillac driver Sergio Pérez also welcomed the intent behind the changes: “I think it’s definitely something really good to see, seeing the teams, FIA, Formula 1, the drivers, all trying to improve what we currently have. And I think it will be a really good step.”

But like others, he remained cautious about the scale of the impact: “I don’t know how much of a difference that will be because we obviously need to race it… but it’s good to see that we are trying to make good changes to improve in all areas and to improve the show and the feeling with the cars.”

However, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri offered perhaps the most technically blunt assessment: “I think the collaboration’s been good and trying to make changes, I think they’re a step in the right direction. How far they go to helping the problems, you’re never going to fix the problems without changing the hardware of the power units.”

Still, he acknowledged the improvements: “How much it helps, we’ll have to wait and see. But certainly, some of the tweaks are a good step forward, which is good to see.”