Oscar Piastri hopeful FIA tweaks restore ‘normal’ F1 2026 qualifying feel

Oscar Piastri is hopeful that the F1 2026 regulation tweaks will trigger a “more back to normal” qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix.

As teammate Lando Norris spoke of the “special feeling” being stripped away in an F1 2026 qualifying lap, Piastri expressed optimism that the revisions will “go a way to solving” the perceived issues of qualifying seen by Piastri, Norris and more in this new era. Both drivers spoke of mistakes being rewarded in some cases with the battery rules as they were.

Oscar Piastri eyes more normal F1 2026 qualifying

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

After meetings with the drivers, and Formula 1’s fellow stakeholders, the FIA announced a series of regulatory tweaks, ones which will come into effect for the next round in Miami.

Included in the changes is a reduction in the maximum energy recharge permitted over a qualifying lap from 8MJ to 7MJ. Peak super clip power has also been increased from 250kW to 350 – this to apply in race conditions also – as the FIA looks to encourage more consistent flat-out driving.

The need for increased battery management in F1 2026 has required drivers to consider where they harvest and deployed energy on a qualifying and race lap.

Speaking with PlanetF1.com and other invited media, reigning World Champion Lando Norris had explained that the fundamentals of a qualifying lap still remain in F1 2026.

“You’re trying to brake as late as possible everywhere. You’re trying to get on throttle everywhere. You’re trying to carry as much speed as possible in the high-speed corners, crack open the throttle, do those little things to be as much on the limit as possible at all times.”

But, “that extra who can push it one, two more per cent more in qualifying went away.

“But those one or two per cent are the special one or two per cent that make it exciting, that might surprise you in terms of this guy is suddenly on pole because he’s taken those couple of little risks, and you’ve kind of taken that element away.”

Norris stressed that a driver who claims pole still does so deservedly through their driving, but pointed to how making a mistake “sometimes benefits” a driver as “the battery gets saved in some ways, and then redeploys in a different place, and you actually gain.”

That “special feeling” on a qualifying lap has gone missing in F1 2026, says Norris.

The reigning World Champion spoke of how in China, his car “gripped up”, he got on the throttle earlier, and he was “paid with a silly penalty of going 10Kph slower in the straight, and you lose more than you ever gain.”

Go deeper: FIA makes F1 2026 regulation tweaks

FIA confirms changes to F1 2026 rules for Miami Grand Prix

Why F1’s 2026 rule vote chose evolution over revolution

Piastri backed the comments of his McLaren teammate, but pointed to the tweaks, coming for Miami and beyond, when stating optimism that the qualifying experience will now improve.

“I don’t know for sure, but I think some of the tweaks have hopefully removed some of those problems,” Piastri stated.

“I agree. I think every qualifying session so far one of us has made a mistake somewhere, and actually it’s helped us rather than hurt us, which is not how it should be.

“So I’m pretty sure that these tweaks that they’ve just introduced will, maybe not fully solve it, but certainly go a way to solving it.

“You still have to drive the car on the limit, but just on the limit within a lot more restrictions now.

“Like Suzuka, we decided, and I think a lot of teams decided, that the fastest way around the lap was to not get back on the throttle between the two Degners.

“But actually, what it meant was you had to be probably even braver than normal on the way into the Degner, because you knew if you didn’t go hard enough into the corner, if you got back on the throttle afterwards, it was going to be a penalty.

“Obviously, we shouldn’t be having that debate in the first place, but ironically, it makes some places braver than they used to be before.

“So hopefully, with these tweaks, it’s a little bit more back to normal, and you’re not so restricted in the way you have to try and find lap time.”

The FIA announced that FP1 in Miami will be extended to 90 minutes.

That will be the sole practice session of what is a Sprint race weekend.

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: FIA extends Miami GP FP1 for first taste of revised regulations