Lewis Hamilton dream set to come true with major F1 2026 ruling in pipeline
Lewis Hamilton’s dream for the FIA to impose a start date on F1 car development may be about to come true as the sport prepares for its next major rules reset in 2026.
Hamilton was mocked as a sore loser at this year’s Austrian Grand Prix, where he suggested the governing body should impose a strict start date on the development of the following year’s car to stop dominant teams like Red Bull consolidating their position.
That idea provoked a sarcastic response from Hamilton’s 2021 title rival Max Verstappen, who pointed out that the seven-time World Champion didn’t think like that during his years of dominance with Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton set for F1 2026 boost?
But now it appears that Hamilton will get his wish, with limitations set to be imposed on car development ahead of introduction of the 2026 regulations.
According to German publication Auto Motor und Sport, over recent weeks F1 technical directors have discussed the idea of imposing a rule to prevent the start of wind tunnel and CFD development work on the 2026 cars before January 2025 in order to prevent teams getting a head start on the new rules.
The report claims a majority is in favour of the measure, which is to be confirmed at the next meeting before being passed on to the F1 Commission and the FIA World council for approval – a process described as ‘a formality’.
With preparations for the 2026 rules set to take place under the cost cap, teams will be forced to manage their resources carefully in the time leading up to F1’s new era.
Sauber boss Andreas Seidl, for instance, has admitted that there will be little development of the team’s 2025 car once it hits the track as attention turns to the following season and the arrival of Audi.
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At the recent Qatar GP, Mercedes technical director James Allison outlined the challenge for teams to manage resources carefully ahead of 2026, revealing that the 2024 car will set the tone for the following season.
He told Sky F1: “2026 [is] big rule change again, tear everything up, start all over again – and that will have to be done in the 2025 season under a cost cap.
“So in order to have the sort of firepower to do that, it’s going to mean that probably [the] 2025 car will not be all new, which means that what you do for ’24 will echo into ’25 as well because a lot of carryover will have to happen.
“So hugely important to set the tone for what 2024 and 2025 will turn into.”
F1’s 2026 rules are set to represent the sport’s latest step towards a green future, with a switch to biofuels and the MGU-K component delivering 50 per cent of the car’s overall power.
With cars also likely to be smaller and lighter, downforce levels are expected to drop by as much as 30 per cent.
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