Toto Wolff responds to driver criticism of 2026 rules: 'Fans the priority for F1'

Several drivers voiced strong criticism of the new F1 regulations at the 2026 season-opening Australian GP

Toto Wolff has responded to the overly negative response to the 2026 Formula 1 regulations, stating that the opinion of fans is more important to the championship than its drivers.

This year, F1 is debuting its latest regulation overhaul with changes to both the chassis and power unit, the latter of which is now more reliant on electrical power.

However, the move has proved to be controversial because battery management will now play a greater role in grands prix, which may lead to ‘unnatural’ techniques such as downshifting on a straight. As such, drivers were not shy in their opinions at the 2026 opener in Melbourne over the weekend.

Max Verstappen called for it to “be better”, Esteban Ocon slandered the cars as being “painful” to drive, whereas Sergio Perez labelled it as a “very different Formula 1 to what I was used to”.

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But the biggest critic was perhaps Lando Norris, who reckons the racing is more “artificial” and dangerous and that the series has gone from the “best cars ever” to “probably the worst”.

The reigning world champion was referring to the ground-effect machines that were much quicker and had higher downforce than now, but Wolff argued those points and claimed that drivers didn’t actually hold that opinion during the four years of the previous era - particularly as porpoising was prominent.

Lando Norris, McLaren, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Andy Hone/ LAT Images via Getty Images

So, as long as fans enjoy the more chaotic and yo-yo style racing that was witnessed at Albert Park on Sunday - there were 75 more overtakes compared with the 2025 Australian Grand Prix - that is all that matters to F1 and its CEO Stefano Domenicali.

The Mercedes boss said: “I didn't hear any one of the drivers speaking particularly good of the last cars and saying it was the best car.

“We tend to be very nostalgic and look at past events. Clearly, we're all stakeholders of the sport. We need to have a great spectacle, the best cars in the world and the best drivers. Being exciting for the fans. That's why we just need to look at the product.

“One perspective is the view of the drivers, which is an important perspective. But... Stefano would say that the single matrix that matters to him is whether the fans like it - that is what we need to look at.

“If it needs to be tweaked, if we need to adjust, I think we have the flexibility in Formula 1 to always take those decisions.”

But it must be said that not all drivers criticised the new rules: Melbourne winner George Russell said “you need to give it a shot”, with his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli claiming it was “better than what we all anticipated” and “we need to just wait a few more races before actually commenting on this new regulation”.

George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images

What helps the Mercedes duo be more positive though is that the Silver Arrows look the dominant force, having claimed a 1-2 in both qualifying and the race - though Ferrari did appear threatening at one stage on Sunday.

Regardless, it puts the German marque in a great position to overcome its titleless years in the ground-effect era and return to the form it had in the early turbo-hybrid years - when it won every constructors’ championship from 2014 to 2021.

“There's so much contentment that I feel in the team at the moment,” added Wolff. “We've had such a winning streak with these eight championships and then very difficult years.

“We still won races and finished second in the championship, but a solid one and two where you feel a season ahead, that means you can fight for a world championship.

“That wasn't for a long time and therefore you're probably more grateful when you bounce back like this, having known the difficult years and just continuing. That's why I'm just very happy for everyone.”