Domenicali: “What does artificial overtaking mean? The elderly people who criticize have short memories, it was like this even in the 80s”

Willingness to change In the long interview granted to Autosport, Stefano Domenicali spoke very broadly about the changes that F1 intends to make to the 2026 regulations. The Italian manager is confident that the show can be improved, giving the drivers more familiar sensations in qualifying, without however neglecting the topic of safety – even more so after Oliver Bearman’s accident in Suzuka. Domenicali’s analysis Stefano Domenicali explained, starting from afar: “I think it is very important to remember why we changed the regulations. The current system of rules exists because five years ago – and it seems like fifty years ago – the manufacturers thought that the only way to progress and stay involved in motorsport was to be 50:50 or electric or find a balance between thermal and hybrid. If we look now at what is happening in the automotive industry we are returning more to hybrids and internal combustion engines with fuel sustainable. And we will talk about this in the discussions for future power units.” Of the changes under discussion, Domenicali said: “Criticizing for the sake of criticizing doesn’t help anyone, and is completely useless. There are meetings going on this week and next week, before Miami, to see what can be done to improve the situation. We’re taking two aspects into consideration, the first is qualifying – to try to be as full power or full braking as possible; then there’s safety, taking into account some of the drivers’ concerns.” Domenicali responds to criticism of overtaking The F1 president then responded to criticism of overtaking: “There are those who say they are artificial. But what does ‘artificial’ mean? An overtaking is an overtaking. Maybe some of the older people who criticize or make comments have a short memory. If you look back to the 80s and the turbo era, these things were already there. It’s part of the game, you have to adapt in the right way. In general the reaction from the fans has been very positive. I can’t wait to see in Miami what the result will be of the changes we will make,” concluded Domenicali.