F1 has decided not to rush a fix for the energy-management problems of its 2026 rules. The Race reported on 15 March, straight after the Chinese Grand Prix, that F1 will hold fire on major changes until at least the Miami Grand Prix in early May. With the Japanese GP (29 March) now run, what the sources show is a review plan; none of the sources consulted reports a confirmed change.
Why not fix it now: China was not Australia
According to The Race, the FIA and Formula One Management had scheduled a review with team principals after Shanghai, prompted by post-testing fears that the 2026 regulations were "falling flat" and that energy-starved cars would hurt the spectacle. The outlet gave three reasons for holding off: China's sprint and race gave "some assurance" the feared disaster had not materialised; Australia was on "one of the most energy-starved tracks on the schedule", so the two rounds were very different; and a third event in Japan would give a better picture.
Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu said: "Definitely we shouldn't do a knee-jerk reaction because if you're going to change something, we should change it once and then get it right." Lewis Hamilton called China "the best racing that I've ever experienced in Formula 1".
What could change: super clipping and peak power
FIA single-seater chief Nikolas Tombazis said in Melbourne on the Friday: "We didn't believe it was realistic to make changes for energy management here." He said the FIA met the teams about ten days earlier, after the Bahrain test, and that their unanimous position was to stick to the current arrangements for the first few races and review when there was more data. "Our intention is after China to be reviewing the energy management situation," he said, adding: "We have a few aces up our sleeves on that, which we didn't want to introduce ahead of the first race as a knee-jerk reaction."
PlanetF1 described the possible options as a cut in peak energy output and raising super-clipping harvesting from the current 250kW to 350kW. McLaren trialled 350kW on the last day of Bahrain testing, and Oscar Piastri said "super clip at 350 is the same as a lift". Italy's Motorionline (9 March) also listed safety concerns about speed differences between cars using boost and cars recharging, and a partial rebalancing of the combustion engine's contribution. All of these are possibilities; none has been confirmed.
What comes next: a working group after Japan, Miami as the target
The Race said the team principals' gathering the week after China would still go ahead, but the focus was shifting to a technical working group meeting of technical chiefs, being set for the second week after Japan. The aim is for revised regulations to be "approved and in place for when F1 resumes in Miami at the start of May". The outlet added that the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix had opened a bigger window before Miami. Areas needing attention were named as the qualifying spectacle and "some overtly complex elements to the regulation". The Race describes this as a plan being worked on, not a confirmed decision.
On the reported plan, the first race where any revision could apply is the Miami Grand Prix on 1–3 May, and current rules stay until then. The sources also differ on Australia's overtaking count: Motorionline says 126, PlanetF1 a "reported 120".