Liam Lawson feels changes for safety should be paramount as part of the F1 2026 rule tweaks, alongside how qualifying takes shape.

The FIA has announced adjustments to the regulations over a race weekend with both safety and qualifying in mind, which will take effect for the first time at the Miami Grand Prix next weekend.

Liam Lawson prioritises safety in 2026 F1 rule changes

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A common complaint among drivers over the first three races of the season the seeming inability to push flat-out over the course of a qualifying lap, given the presence of super-clipping.

The teams, along with the FIA, FOM and power unit manufacturers, have sought to address that by both reducing the permitted amount of energy regeneration over the course of a lap, to reduce the need for lift-and-coast driving, alongside an increase in peak super-clipping power, to lessen the time it takes for batteries to recharge.

Safety changes around race starts have also been taken into consideration. Lawson bogged down on the start line at the Australian Grand Prix, with only quick reflexes from Franco Colapinto stopping a massive accident on the start/finish straight.

Further tweaks such as a cap on power available in ‘Boost Mode’ looks to address high closing speeds between the cars in race trim, with a huge crash for Oliver Bearman having taken place at Suzuka last time out.

Lawson hopes to avoid a repeat of that kind of incident, and with rule adjustments set to come into play in Miami, he acknowledged the regulations are still in an extremely early stage, but wishes for cars which feel “nicer to drive” in the interim.

Asked on his view of how the 2026 regulations could evolve prior to this week’s announcement, Lawson told PlanetF1.com and others: “Honestly, I really don’t know.

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“At the end of the day, there are always going to be things that we want from the car. I mean, as racing drivers, we complain about everything, literally. So I think that’ll never change.

“But I think on the regulation side, I think the biggest thing right now is probably the the safety aspect of it, especially with what we saw in Japan, and I think that’s something that we know we want to avoid, obviously, in the future, going forwards.

“On the performance side, that’s something that obviously will always evolve. You know, if you look at the other regulations, the start of it, there’s been a huge development over there for the five-year process that the regulations have been out, so I’m sure these will obviously evolve and get faster.

“I’m sure we’ll find ways to make the cars nicer to drive, or I hope that we do, because I think, at the moment, especially in qualifying, we’re trying to put the car on the limit and extract everything out of it. In ways, at the moment, it feels like we’re not able to do that.

“I think that’s really the first focus for us that we would like out of the cars, but I think really that safety side probably comes first more than anything.”

Additional reporting by Mat Coch

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