From future engines to race cancellations and F1 history, our editor tackles your biggest questions after the opening three rounds.

We put out a call across our social media channels and to our commenters to get your questions, and PlanetF1 editor Mat Coch has answered the best of them.

Your F1 questions answered: Our editor responds

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Is there any hope for the 2031 V8s being naturally aspirated?

Hans Aaraas, Facebook

Mat Coch: It’s a very good question and, right now, I’m not certain a heap of thought has gone into the rules beyond the current era. In saying that, manufacturers have invested heavily in the current rules, there are facilities, technology, staff… They will all be looking to recoup that investment. Can that be done to their satisfaction before 2031? But that’s only the first hurdle. It’s then a question of whether reverting to a naturally aspirated engine without a hybrid element marries with their own business model or, if it doesn’t, whether the value of simply being in F1 counters that. It’s not a simple question, and not one we need to think about right now. But, that conversation will need to start sometime soon. I don’t think a traditionally V8 engine is off the table with sustainable fuel, but I’m not totally convinced it’ll win the day, either.

How quickly can the current ****show change?

Elesie Geledenhuys, Facebook

MC: Quite quickly, but the risk is overcompensating early and creating knock-on issues that haven’t been foreseen. As a result, I can see a few rounds of comparatively minor tweaks followed by a period where the situation is monitored to understand the impact. We expect changes to the regulations for Miami as efforts are made to refine the product, but we’ll then have to wait and see just what impact that has across a few races. More changes might then follow if F1 is still not where it needs to be. The fundamentals won’t change, but the rules can be tidied up a bit to restore a more familiar style of racing. It might just take a few iterations or revisions to get there.

Why doesn’t F1 dump the FIA and set up its own management?

late_nite_friend, Instagram

MC: The FIA actually owns F1, while Liberty Media (more colloquially referred to as Formula One Management or FOM in F1 terms) owning the commercial rights to the sport. The backstory on that is huge, but put simply, that relationship, together with the roles and responsibilities that are associated, are what are detailed in the Concorde Agreement. The FIA is the regulator, it makes the rules with input from the teams and FOM. To answer your question more directly, it wouldn’t work. That’s based on a few previous attempts when tensions have grown to the point where there have been talks of a breakaway series. The problem with doing so is that motorsport is far bigger than F1, and tracks typically need other forms of racing to survive financially. With the FIA in control of circuit licensing, it’s in a position to hold a circuits to ransom and effectively starve a rival series.

Who in your opinions are your all-time top six best F1 drivers that you’ve watched race?

Garee

MC: Potentially controversial in the ordering, but the top six I’ve seen race in the flesh are: Max Verstappen tops the list, but thereafter it’s Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, and Lewis Hamilton. An aside; I was fortunate enough to see Jack Brabham in a demonstration race in the early 2000s, driving a McLaren of all things. After a Ferrari expired in front of me, dropping oil all over the corner, Brabham made everyone else on track (and it included accomplished drivers like Vern Schuppan among others) look mediocre as he slithered his way through the corner with seemingly little effort as everyone else wallowed about or spun. And this from a man who’d been retired for three decades at that point! It was incredible to watch.

Football is being played currently in Saudi. Why did they decide to cancel the GP? I would think the Saudi government could guarantee safety overall

Dollar

MC: At the time, there were suggestions that Saudi would go ahead but Bahrain be cancelled. However, it was explained to me that for relationship purposes, they were considered a package deal; it wouldn’t send the right message to those in Bahrain if the event in Saudi went ahead. As that decision was being made, there were also concerns about the impact in Saudi, too, so that was factored into the equation.

The FIA and FOM have had a golden opportunity to put in place with the agreement of teams and drivers to reinstate the GP’s in Middle East during August 2026 subject to Iran and USA war outcome. Is this being discussed and is there a common meeting of mods to make this happen?

Andy

MC: The complication is logistics, essentially. To change the calendar now and slot in different events is not trivial, and with a long season to come there is little appetite within the paddock – even from within FOM, based on the conversations I’ve had. There have been suggestions of reinstating them towards the back end of the year, but that would potentially create four events in as many weekends. The impact on those on the paddock would be significant. But cancelling those races was a huge financial hit, so there’s strong motivation to reinstate them if possible. I remain unconvinced, however.

Do you think F1 has taken a right direction with this year’s set of rules? What would you change?

DriveRaceWin 

MC: To be brutally honest, no. The regulations as a whole are far too complex leaving engineers too constrained. That’s a broader complaint, beyond just the current regulation set, but it doesn’t help the current situation. These rules were largely formulated with a view to attract new manufacturers. As such, they’re a compromise – something nobody really wanted but something everyone at the time could tolerate in the context of big-name additions to the grid (Audi, Honda, Ford, Cadillac, etc). I believe the hybrid system confuses the sport, and moves it into territory Formula E owns. At a time when sustainable fuel is becoming increasingly viable, I’d rather see a traditional combustion style engine – there’s still a global car park of billions of fossil-fuel driven cars. A drop-in sustainable fuel offers huge value globally while buying time to understand where the sport needs to go next.

My question is with Mercedes being so dominant this season do the paddock journalists believe Kimi can indeed beat George Russell to the title this season, or could McLaren spoil the Mercedes party with their own Mercedes-powered cars for a second season?

Mark

MC: I can’t speak on behalf of others, but there is a real sense that Kimi Antonelli is the real deal. How he stacks up across a full season is the big unknown, but in terms of his raw ability, he’s taken a huge step forward from last year. Should that development continue, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t, it’s likely he will be spoken about in terms of being a championship contender. Will that be this year? Well, he looks to have a car capable of delivering a title at the moment, and the very best typically seize their first opportunity. As for McLaren, it’s only been three races and there’s much ground to make up. The trouble is, simply catching and matching Mercedes isn’t enough. McLaren needs to surpass the factory team to the point of domination if it is to overhaul it and win the championship. That’s an enormous task.

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