Williams Team Principal James Vowles has warned that the proposed 2026 Formula 1 regulations could make the gap to Formula 2 cars “as small as a few seconds”.
The FIA has revealed the initial guidelines that will change the upcoming technical rules with an attention on lighter and slimmer cars with much-reduced downforce.
However, the next-generation cars being scheduled to have 30% less downforce and 55% less drag than the current machines has caused concern with team bosses.
Vowles has disclosed how simulator runs with a 2025 model have suggested that the new cars would be getting too close in competitiveness to the modern F2 cars.
The Briton has argued that tweaks to counter that must be addressed in order to ensure that F1 remains the pinnacle over rival series like Super Formula and IndyCar.
“It’s imperative that we are still the leading series in motorsport,” Vowles outlined. “That’s how I see us with the pinnacle of this.
“And therefore, as a result of that, we need to make sure that we’re maintaining the performance and speed we have.
“And right now, I think Andrea [Stella, McLaren boss] summarised it well, but there’s a mismatch there.
“Fundamentally, the performance difference to an F2 car could be as small as a few seconds.
“And that’s starting to get a little bit tight, especially when you compare to other series around the world that you’ve nominated.”
However, Vowles did acknowledge that the FIA’s published document does not constitute the definitive guidelines and could be altered prior to the rules being ratified.
“But also, these are draft regulations,” he continued. “And just this week, in fact, there were two changes which took quite a bit of downforce away.
“I’m confident we’ll get to a better solution in that regard. It’s not that we’re so far away. Just a little bit more work required, though.”
To mitigate the increased reliance on electric energy on the engine, active aero will intend to increase downforce in the corners and boost top speed on the straights.
But Stella has claimed this would contribute to creating an imbalanced formula and believes tweaks should also be made to reduce the dependency on the chassis.
“The cars are not fast enough in the corners and too fast in the straights,” he explained. “So these two aspects need to be rebalanced.”
He added: “I still think that the way in which the power units are planned to be used needs to be adjusted.
“We can still achieve a 50-50 concept, which is a nice concept, but it can be achieved in a way that doesn’t put so much of a requirement on the chassis side, which then is difficult to meet.
“So I think from a power unit point of view, likewise from a chassis point of view, it’s time that all parties understand that they need to contribute to the success of the sport”
The incumbent team bosses are scheduled to bring up their various worries during a meeting which F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali will hold this morning in Montreal.
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