31/03/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | MAR 31, 2026

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Urgent need for change F1 must tweak 2026 regulations after Bearman’s 308kph crash in Suzuka

Ű BY KIERAN JACKSON

cipal Ayao Komatsu simply described the inci dent as “scary”. Max Verstappen, amid his own issues at Red Bull and with a Guardian journalist in Japan, has regularly described this season’s new energy focused regulations as like “Mario Kart.” On Bearman’s crash, the Dutchman com pared the Briton’s sudden surge in speed to press ing the “mushroom” button on the popular com puter game. Fun in a virtual setting; dangerous in the real world. It is a much-needed tipping point for the 2026 cars and the Sunday spectacle. Three hours after the race concluded, the FIA released a lengthy statement acknowledging the crash’s “high clos ing speeds” and revealed that a “number of meet ings are scheduled for April to assess the opera tion of the new regulations and to determine whether any refinements are required.” This is a positive step from the sport’s govern ing body. The “spring break” allows all stakehold ers to evaluate and amend. The much-criticised energy deployment can, to an extent, be tweaked in the rulebook. Fuel flow modifications could also be a solution. Whichever road they go down, Bearman’s crash should be the stimulus. Change is afoot. Let’s see how the dial has shifted by Miami in May. – The Independent have not had a single issue in practice, but I have had problems in qualifying instead. It is the luck of the draw with these new cars. “But it is race three of 22, and I am not concerned at all. It is a long year, and I know I have got what it takes to bounce back. I won’t dwell on it.” Mercedes are looking increasingly likely to deliver this year’s world champion having won all three races so far. Russell started the season on the front foot with vic tory in Melbourne but Antonelli, in just his second sea son on the grid, has struck back with two triumphs. Asked if he was worried the momentum is starting to shift towards the Italian, Russell replied:“No, not at all. If the safety car came out one lap earlier today, the vic tory would have been on my side, and I am confident in that. “In China without the qualifying issue, I was three tenths ahead in sprint qualifying so maybe I could have been on pole there and won. It is just how it turns out. “We have got a four-week break so there is no momentum to be carried over. We will reset and go again for the next race.” Russell had Antonelli in his pocket in their first sea son together at the Silver Arrows. However, the 19-year old has emerged as a serious championship contender. On Sunday, he became the first Italian driver since the great Alberto Ascari in 1953 to win consecutive races, and the first teenager ever to lead the title race. “I’m not thinking too much about the champion ship,” said Antonelli. “Of course it’s great, but there’s still a long way to go. “We need to keep raising the bar because George is very quick, and for sure he’s going to be back at his usual level.” – The Independent

(street tracks). It was 50G, that is higher than my crash in Russia in 2016, which was 46G. I hope it serves as one example… the racing is clearly not OK.” The wiliest F1 fox of them all, 44-year-old Fernando Alonso, even foresaw the issue on the grid before the race. “Overtaking these days is accidental,” he said. “You find yourself with a higher battery than the car in front and you either crash into them or you overtake them. It’s an evasive manoeuvre – not an overtake.” This is exactly what occurred with Bearman. Eyeing a move on Alpine’s Franco Colapinto as they approached the high-speed Spoon Curve in sector two, the Briton was suddenly going 45kph quicker than the car ahead after using his energy deployment more efficiently, as well as boost mode for further speed. Not on a straight, but on a turn. In a matter of seconds, Bearman took evasive action to avoid ramming the rear of Colapinto’s car. He swooped left, smashed into the polysty rene speed boards on the grass, spun back over the racetrack and into the wall side-on. Most unusually, there was no long investiga tion from race stewards; no anger on team radio from either party or their bosses. It was quickly decided that nobody was at fault. Haas team prin

but did have a “right knee contusion”, effectively a bruised knee. Thankfully, Bearman was seen walking around the Haas garage towards the end of the race, having been cleared by doctors at the medi cal centre. Further in his favour is the now five-week gap in the calendar, resulting from the cancellation of events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. It means he will have the requisite time to recover for the next race in Miami on May 3, though we are yet to hear from Bearman himself after he was rightly allowed to skip his media duties post-race. However, for some drivers, this accident felt like something of an inevitability. And it is the necessary shot across the bows for the sport’s executives. “We’ve been very vocal on this – we’ve been warning that this kind of accident was going to happen,” said Williams’s Carlos Sainz afterwards. “With these closing speeds, this was going to happen. Hopefully, we come up with a better solution given these massive closing speeds and (find) a better way of racing. “We’re lucky there was an escape road (run-off area). Imagine what would happen in Baku or Vegas

I N more ways than one, it was a game changer. The incident that flipped Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix on its head, to the delight of the race winner and the despair of his Mercedes teammate George Russell, means we have a new championship leader in 19-year old Kimi Antonelli. Yet the long-term connotations, for the 22 drivers and for Formula One’s new era, will be of greater significance. Ollie Bearman’s thunderous crash on lap 22 at Suzuka was, to put it in simplistic F1 colloquial isms, a “big one”. An impact with the tyre barrier measured at 50G – similar to Max Verstappen’s 2021 shunt at Silverstone – saw the 20-year-old limp away from his cockpit with the assistance of trackside mar shals. When his car skated off track, his Haas VF-26 was doing an enormous 308kph. Such are the brilliant advancements in driver safety over the last decade, most notably the “halo” device over the cockpit introduced in 2018, it is to F1 and the FIA’s credit that Bearman emerged more or less unscathed. Haas confirmed that the Chelmsford born driver did not sustain any fractures,

GEORGE RUSSELL believes everything is going against him after Kimi Antonelli moved into the lead of the world championship follow ing his victory at Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Frustration builds for Russel Ű BY PHILIP DUNCAN

Italian teenager Antonelli claimed a second win in as many races after he was afforded a free pit stop in Suzuka when Ollie Bearman crashed out of the race at 308kph. The timing of the subsequent safety car derailed Russell’s hopes as he slipped from second to third before a battery prob lem then allowed both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc ahead. Russell cleared Hamilton to

finish fourth but he now trails Mercedes teammate Antonelli by nine points. His troubles arrived a fortnight after he broke down in qualifying in China to allow Antonelli a free run at pole, which he duly con verted into his maiden win. And Russell, the pre-season championship favourite, said: “At the moment, it is just one thing after the other. “Racing can go for you, but it can also go against you too, and at the moment, every issue we are having is on my side of the garage and I am the one going through that pain. “Sometimes people have problems in practice. We

Verstappen considering shock F1 retirement after Japanese GP MAX VERSTAPPEN says he is consid ering retiring from Formula 1 at the end of the 2026 season.

weekend media session. “As a kid this is what I wanted to do and back then I had no idea what I was going to achieve and how much money you make,” Verstappen added. “You never think about that as a kid. And it’s also not about that. “I want to be here to have fun and have a great time and enjoy myself. At the moment that’s not really the case. “Of course I do enjoy certain aspects. I enjoy working with my team. It’s like a second family. But once I sit in the car it’s not the most enjoy able unfortunately. I’m trying. I keep telling myself every day to try and enjoy it. It’s just very hard.” – The Independent

Verstappen is on a lucrative £50 million (RM265m) a year contract at Red Bull, which he signed back in 2022. He missed out on winning five consecutive titles by just two points last year, losing out to Lando Norris, but looks way out of contention this season. He has frequently criticised the new features on the 2026 cars, with a focus on energy deployment and, therefore, having to lift-and-coast on straights. He has also described the racing as “like Mario Kart.” The Dutchman was also embroiled in a row with a British journalist on Thursday, after he threw Guardian reporter Giles Richards out of his pre

you can’t be dominating or be first or second or whatever, fighting for a podium every time. I’m very realistic in that and I’ve been there before. I’ve not only been winning in F1. “But at the same time when you are in P7 or P8 and you are not enjoy ing the whole formula behind it, it doesn’t feel natural to a racing driver. “Of course I try to adapt to it, but it’s not nice the way you have to race. It’s really anti-driving. Then at one point, yeah, it’s just not what I want to do. “And of course you can look at it and make a lot of money. Great. But at the end of the day it’s not about money any more because this has always been my passion.”

Bull’s poor performance has nothing to do with his outlook. Asked by BBC Radio 5 Live after the race in Suzuka whether he would walk away from the sport at the end of the season, Verstappen replied: “That’s what I’m saying. I’m thinking about everything inside this paddock. “Privately I’m very happy. You also wait for 24 races. This time it’s 22. But normally 24. And then you just think about is it worth it? “Or do I enjoy being more at home with my family? Seeing my friends more when you’re not enjoying your sport? “I can easily accept to be in P7 or P8 where I am. Because I also know that

The four-time F1 world champion, who has a contract with Red Bull until 2028, has voiced his dissatisfaction with this year’s new generation of cars and has called for sweeping changes. Red Bull are, also, a step behind leading teams such as Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren. Verstappen, who is seen as one of the sport’s modern greats, finished eighth in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix and is ninth in the championship standings after three rounds, 60 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli. Yet the 28-year-old is adamant Red