MOST GRANDS PRIX | ALPINE

 

FIA PRESIDENT ISSUES STATEMENT BEFORE CRUNCH F1 2026 RULES MEETING

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem speaks out ahead of key F1 rules meeting.

F1 is holding a series of key meetings about the 2026 rules

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has praised the “invaluable input” from Formula 1 drivers ahead of a crunch meeting about potential rule changes.

F1’s key stakeholders, including team principals and chief executives, are meeting with governing body the FIA on Monday with the aim of thrashing out solutions for tweaks to the much-maligned 2026 regulations.

A near 50-50 split between combustion and electrical power has placed greater emphasis on energy management and led to criticism from both drivers and fans during the opening three rounds of the season.

F1 is utilising the enforced five-week break without racing following the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix due to the Iran War to discuss possible changes to the rules.

It is hoped that agreement on improvements will be reached during Monday’s latest meeting. Any proposed changes would then be put forward for final approval at a World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) e-vote ahead of the Miami Grand Prix on 3 May.

Ahead of Monday’s key meeting, FIA president Ben Sulayem hailed input from the drivers.

"I am delighted to report that there has been constructive and collaborative discussion between the FIA and the Formula 1 drivers ahead of tomorrow’s CEOs and team principals meeting to discuss potential changes to the 2026 Regulations,” he said in a social media post.

"The drivers have provided invaluable input on adjustments which they feel should be made, particularly in the areas of energy management to ensure safe, fair and competitive racing.

"The FIA has also held a series of meetings over the past few weeks with technical representatives from the teams, power unit manufacturers and FOM to discuss proposed changes. Safety and the best interests of the sport are the main focus of these discussions.

"Following the meeting tomorrow, the final proposals will be put before a FIA WMSC e-vote.”

Speaking to media including Crash.net last week, George Russell revealed the main problem areas drivers hope can be addressed.

"I think the two headline points are flat-out qualifying, so no lift and coast, and then reducing the closing speeds,” the Mercedes driver said.

"The closing speed of the Bearman-Colapinto crash was twofold. One, of course Bearman was on his boost button and giving himself 350kW, so he had an abundance of power in an abnormal part of the track. And, on the flip side, Colapinto used his boost on the main straight the half a lap before, and was low on his battery, so he had a lack of power.

"So that is, at least in my eyes, where these closing speed differences are coming from and I think the FIA are definitely very much aware of that. From the drivers' perspective, just looking to reduce that closing speed in abnormal areas, and especially in non-SM [Straight Mode].

“If there's a straight that isn't an SM mode, that means it's because it's a corner and of course the Bearman crash was in a non-SM part of the track. So I think we're all aligned on those points.”

Russell added: "There's a lot of low-hanging fruit. For example, the minus 350 kilowatts super clip is a no-brainer, and that already in itself is going to avoid a lot of lift-and-coast, having the minus 350 kilowatt super clip.

"And there's other small parts of the regulation that say you can only de-rate the engine at a certain rate. So on a very short straight, there isn't enough time to go from 350 kilowatts to a super clip because the straight is too short.

“Some small changes around these regulations will have a major improvement for the overall driving experience."

- Lewis Larkam

WHAT'S GOING ON F1 2025'S FORGOTTEN DRIVER

This Formula 1 season has produced a short-lived grand prix career that had more flashes of promise than people will remember - assuming Jack Doohan is remembered at all, since he has rapidly become the forgotten man of Formula 1 2025.

In another world, Doohan is racing in the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend. And it doesn't even need to be a world in which Alpine never dropped him, as Doohan could conceivably have got his seat back as quickly as he lost it.

When Alpine subbed in Franco Colapinto for a five-race evaluation, that description was quickly revised by team boss Flavio Briatore, which was a hint that Colapinto was probably around for the long haul. But Doohan kept his head down and worked on the basis that he would be back in the car at the British GP if Colapinto did not perform.

But come the most recent round at Silverstone, Doohan remained on the sidelines. And Colapinto appears to have been given an indefinite incumbency - assisted at least in part by the arrival of a Latin American sponsor, Claro, which is part of the Carlos Slim empire - despite the poor form that left Doohan expecting to get his seat back.

Comparing the two six-event stints of Doohan and Colapinto is an underwhelming exercise. They have similarly disappointing results, although Doohan has had stronger flashes.

At his point of elimination in qualifying, Doohan's average position (not including grid penalties for others) was 15.5, his peak was 11th in Bahrain, his average deficit to Gasly was 0.36 seconds and he outqualified him once, in Miami.

Colapinto's average qualifying position is 16.7, with an average deficit of 0.3s, a best qualifying performance of 12th in Canada, where he outqualified Gasly for the only time so far in a result that also became 10th on the grid after penalties.

Directly comparing how they performed versus Gasly in every qualifying segment favours Doohan slightly, as his deficit drops to 0.26s while Colapinto's is reduced to 0.31s. The two are clearly very close in any qualifying analysis, plus have shared similar experiences of unreasonable expectations and a threat of being dropped.

But Doohan's overall pace showed a threat to Gasly that Colapinto has struggled to replicate. And while this is not an argument that Colapinto has been terrible, or a big downgrade on Doohan, you can imagine why Doohan would feel very hard done by that he has lost his F1 seat - and potentially any chance of an F1 future - for a change that has achieved nothing.

It leaves Doohan with a tiny and underwhelming legacy.

Barring a new driver arriving somewhere and failing to finish a race higher than 13th, Doohan will finish last in the championship; Colapinto's two 13th-place finishes have him technically ahead even though neither have scored a point, the two only drivers who have failed to do so in 2025.

It is a poor record, and being quite so bad is undeserved. Doohan's Alpine stint featured more potential than the results suggest.

Thrown into a difficult situation at Alpine, driving a car that was tricky to handle and under the watch of team management that undermined him and his successor Colapinto, Doohan had the odds stacked against him from the start.

Despite the lack of points, Doohan impressed with flashes of raw speed - especially after a set-up change after testing helped tailor the Alpine more to his liking for the start of the season - and a strong work ethic.

But his campaign was hampered by mistakes: a first-lap crash in Australia, a practice crash on his second flying lap in Japan after failing to close DRS manually because he had not needed to in the simulator, and a race-ending incident in Miami that came after a strong qualifying performance.

These moments, along with other unnecessary penalties in China (forcing Isack Hadjar off track, 10 seconds) and Bahrain (leaving the track without a justifiable reason multiple times, five seconds), disrupted any momentum he might have been able to build.

Still, within the context of his situation - limited preparation, high-pressure expectations, and a car that wasn't up to standard - Doohan performed better than he was given credit for. While he may now be seen as a footnote in Alpine's turbulent 2025 season, he had the raw ingredients of a capable F1 driver.

Had Alpine committed longer-term, the trajectory suggested there was more to come. Instead, Doohan has become one of the forgotten men of 2025.

The question is whether there will be a second chance.

Even Red Bull, the only team who has treated a driver as badly or worse than Alpine has this year, tends to keep their rejected options in a race seat somewhere. Liam Lawson at least ended up back at Racing Bulls, for example, after being dropped following two races at Red Bull at the start of the year.

Assuming there is no route back in at Alpine - which looks to be the case while Briatore is there - then Doohan's best chance might be to crowbar his way in at Cadillac, which is weighing up going for the most experienced and successful free agents (Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez) or pairing one of them with a younger driver.

Cadillac's known to be wary of taking on a rookie but, with seven grands prix starts plus two sprint races under his belt, Doohan's potentially got an edge on some of the other candidates thought to be in the mix. And there have at least been some informal talks.

What Doohan's counting on for any team minded to roll the dice and give him a second chance - wherever or whenever that could be - is for someone to pay close enough attention to his work at Alpine to look past the results.

While they were not bad enough to deserve being dropped in the first place, they are also too middling and too few to command a place elsewhere.

That is the unfortunate and unfair reality that the most harshly treated driver of F1 2025 has been left in.

- Scott Mitchell-Malm

PENALTY POINTS | AFTER THE SPANISH GRAND PRIX

 

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