Have your say: Does Bearman’s Suzuka crash prompt change to the 2026 regulations?

Oliver Bearman suffered a huge shunt at Suzuka on Sunday, escaping with minor injuries after hitting the barrier at Spoon Curve, having taken to the grass to avoid a slow Franco Colapinto.

The high closing speed between the two drivers, placed at 50kph (30mph) by Haas and Alpine, saw Colapinto take his usual line on the bend around to Spoon, and Bearman took evasive action on the grass, which saw him lose control of his car.

F1 poll: Should Oliver Bearman’s Suzuka crash prompt F1 regulation changes?

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With an impact of 50G, ten times that of drivers’ steering through high-speed corners, Bearman was seen limping away from his car in the aftermath of the incident, before being checked over and cleared from the Medical Centre with bruising in his right knee.

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu stressed the Alpine driver was in no way to blame for the incident, with Bearman having been searching for a way past Colapinto.

The closing speed between the two was the big issue in play, as Bearman approached at a much faster speed, taking avoiding action in the process, and with Suzuka’s lack of run-off on the infield, that catapulted him helplessly towards the barriers.

The FIA issued a statement after the race in the wake of Bearman’s accident confirmed that “a number of meetings” are scheduled for April to discuss the new regulations, and clarified that “safety will always remain a core element of the FIA’s mission.”

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Carlos Sainz, chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, spoke frankly about how such an incident was likely to happen with the nature of the new power units.

“These kinds of accidents were always going to happen, and I’m not very happy with what we’ve had up until now,” he said.

“Hopefully, we come up with a better solution that doesn’t create these massive closing speeds and a safer way of racing.

“We, as GPDA, have warned the FIA that these accidents are going to happen a lot with this set of regulations, and we need to change something soon, if we don’t want them to happen.

“It was 50G, I heard, just imagine what kind of crash you could have in Vegas, Baku, etc.

“I hope it serves as an example, and the teams listen to the drivers, and not so much to the teams and some people who said the racing was okay, because the racing is not okay.”

Talks are set to take place through April over the direction of the new regulations in Formula 1, with three races having taken place in the sport’s new era.

It remains to be seen whether or not tweaks will be made for this or next season, but should changes be required, if you were among the powers that be, would you change anything? And if so, what?

Cast your vote below, and join our comments section and leave your opinion, which may be featured in the next edition of the PlanetF1 Postbox later this week.

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