Ollie Bearman reveals the main 2026 F1 rule change he wants after safety concerns

Haas Formula 1 driver Ollie Bearman has revealed what his main change to the new regulations would be after the first three rounds of the 2026 season.

During the unexpected April break due to the cancellation of the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain Grands Prix, the FIA and F1 have been considering potential tweaks to the regulations after concerns were raised by drivers and teams.

The new regulations, which centre around an almost 50:50 split between internal combustion and electric power, have been met with a mixed response. The massive reliance on electric power has led to severe battery clipping and de-rating on long straights, resulting in drastic speed differences. 

The risks of this were demonstrated by Bearman's high-speed crash during the Japanese Grand Prix when the Briton quickly came up behind the much slower Alpine of Franco Colapinto, who was harvesting energy at the time. As he took avoiding action, Bearman dipped onto the grass and lost control before gliding back across the track and into the barriers.

While discussing the new regulations during an appearance on the Up To Speed podcast, Bearman explained that if he had to choose just one tweak, he would get rid of lifting and coasting. 

Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Team

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

"I don't think we need to flip things upside down; it's just a few small tweaks," he explained.

"I would like to get rid of lift and coast. I think that would be great if we can harvest this at minus 350 kW, which is what we can't do right now on full throttle," he said, when asked what his main tweak would be.

"We can only do negative 250. They can get rid of lift and coast in qualifying laps and even in the race as well. Lift and coast in quali is one of the most counterintuitive aspects and features of these new regulations.

"You can imagine a qualifying lap and you're halfway down the straight, and you lift off. I mean, it's super strange. So, if we can get rid of that, I think everyone's in agreement that we want to have qualifying flat out, and it's not at the moment. So, if we can do that, that would be fantastic."