TEAM REPRESENTATIVES - Simone RESTA (Mercedes), Paul MONAGHAN (Red Bull Racing), Andy STEVENSON (Aston Martin), Nikolas TOMBAZIS (FIA)

Q: Now with just ten weeks until testing for 2026 gets underway, this is a great opportunity for us to get a little bit more under the skin of the new rules coming in next year. So a question to all of you to start with. Just what are going to be the biggest challenges for the teams next year?
Simone RESTA: First of all, thanks for reminding about the 10 weeks, which makes it quite challenging. There are many technical challenges on this program, both on the chassis and on the PU side. I mean, of course it's a brand new PU, but it's also sustainable fuels for the first time. And on the chassis side, everything is new. So, new aero configuration, new tyres, quite challenging weight limits to be achieved, and those new safety requirements. So there's a combination of many different things, and actually there's no carryover. So, quite a big challenge altogether.

Q: And, Paul, how do you see the biggest challenges going into next year?
Paul MONAGHAN: All of it. And ten weeks. Yeah, that's a bit shocking, isn't it? But there we go. So we're taking on a new engine as well. We've decided to do one of those. Aren’t we lucky? What a privilege! There’s sustainable fuel. There are some subtle ICE changes compared with this year, but it's a challenge we've all got to surmount. And then I think probably the only carryover part of the chassis will be the steering wheel quick disconnect, isn't it? So yes, a whole new car, new engine, new set of rules, new effective operation of the car around the track, a few uncertainties over running in the wet. So, 2026 is sort of wipe the slate clean and off you go again. OK, bring it on.

Q: Andy, can we get your perspective?
Andy STEVENSON: I think the biggest challenge certainly that's on our mind is to make sure we beat these guys. That's what we'll certainly be trying to do. But yeah, ten weeks away, off the back of what's been probably one of the longest seasons we've ever done before. Going into '26 with the biggest rule change we've ever seen, with new cars, new tyres, new engines… Lots and lots of things to focus on but a challenge that we relish. You know, our team, we've been shouting about 2026 for long enough now. All the pieces are starting to fall into place. We've got a new head of our design, Adrian. We've got a new engine partner. We're bringing in sustainable fuels, and we've got Aramco, one of the largest companies in the world, who are very good at developing fuels. So, a challenge that we’re really looking forward to.

Q: And Nikolas, you've been on both sides of the fence, if you like. How do you see the challenges of these new rules?
Nikolas TOMBAZIS: Well, if I answer the same question fourth, then I won’t say much new stuff. But I certainly remember being on the other side of the fence when you have new regulations. One of the big challenges is operating in the dark. You don’t know where the others are. You don’t know whether you need to recover one second from one season to the next or if you're ahead and going to start the championship winning or in woeful misery. So that angst of the unknown, I think, is psychologically very draining for teams. I don’t live that side. On our side, of course, as the FIA, the challenge is to make sure we tie all the loose ends of the regulations. It’s a big change in the structure, in trying to address a lot of topics, and we've worked together with the teams to try to resolve all the little issues, right to this moment.

Q: Thank you for that. Another question to all of you to get your perspective on it. How different will the racing be next year? Simone, let's start with you again.
SR: Well, I think it’s going to be quite different, especially in racing rather than in quali. We are all used to a certain format with the DRS that is helping overtaking and using it in defined areas and certain gaps, etc. In reality, next year, every driver will be running moving front and rear wings together, in many points in the lap, and will be using the energy to help overtaking. So I suppose it’s going to be different and potentially quite more unpredictable in the way that the drivers will use the energy to overtake.

Q: Paul?
PM: How will the racing be different was your question. As long as we're still in front, it's not that different, is it? So that would be fine. But, just to put Andy back in his place after his initial comment, really… in all answers to your question, I generally don't know because it's such a large departure from what we've done before. And as Simone just said, you know, some people call it hitting the ground running and others may struggle a little bit. That will produce perhaps a bigger grid spread than we currently have. The whole operation of the car is quite different. As Simone said here, we back off the wings on the straights, the energy peters out quite quickly, then how do you recover? If a driver — I won't say makes an error — but deploys his energy differently and you're a little bit inefficient in your use around the lap, an overtake is actually quite practical or feasible, whatever you might describe it as. So I think the scatter of car usage and performance could be greater than we currently have. And as such, the racing will be different in that we may not be as closed up as we currently are — but we'll see. And then you've got the uncertainty of completely new cars, new electronics, and will everybody make it to the end? Don't know. We'll find out. Hopefully, we’ll get there. And yes, it's unpredictable, I would say, at the moment.

Q: Andy?
AS: Yeah, I think Paul's sort of covered most things there. I think you just went into just about every subject that we've got to deal with at the moment. But I think what we can't forget is, we were looking at the rules that we had now and how could we improve the racing. And there's a lot of work been done so that we can create these cars that, once we've all got an idea of how we deal with them, will create much, much closer racing. And that's what we're all aiming for. Yes, we've got close grids at the moment, but I think we can improve the racing and make it better. And when you see what technologies that we're bringing to Formula 1 for next year, I'm really, really excited about it.
I mean, one of the things I can't wait to see is the wings and the straight-line mode. For years, I have been so confused why we build some of the most technical racing cars in the world and then we just bolt a load of drag to it and drag it around the circuit. But now we've got some really clever technology where we can back that off, become really, really efficient, and hopefully have some really good racing from it.

Q: Nik?
NT: Yes, clearly with new regulations one expects initially a slightly bigger spread of the grid, but we do expect from an aerodynamic point of view, cars to be able to follow each other much closer than now. The wake characteristics are much improved and we feel we've learned a lot from the 2022 cars to implement a lot of these learnings for the aerodynamic regulations this year. Then, of course, it's what Simone said about the transition from using DRS to energy as the tool to assist overtaking. That's all going to change the nature and make it more unpredictable. That, together with the different aerodynamics, I think are going to make racing ultimately more exciting.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (John Noble – The Race) To Nikolas, one of the issues being discussed over the past few months was what to do with straight-line mode in wet races or behind the Safety Car, because obviously there are implications on drag levels, safety, and plank wear. What is the latest in terms of what's being decided regarding its use in wet races, Safety Cars, and cautions?
NT: I'm afraid I won't give you too much detail there. There's been a lot of discussion on this topic with a few different options. There were some final discussions on this topic at the technical meeting a few weeks ago, and there are a few different ways to solve it. But I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the very last change on that particular topic.

Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Another one for Nikolas. There’ve been a few drivers who talked about the pace of the cars next year looking a bit slow, some saying closer to Formula 2 pace. What's your latest simulations and data in terms of the kind of lap times to expect, both for qualifying and race pace?
NT: I think comments about Formula 2 pace are way off the mark. We are talking about lap times, overall, which are in the region of one or two seconds off where we are now, depending on the track, depending on the conditions. And, obviously, at the start of a cycle, it would be silly to be faster than the previous cycle. It would cost us nothing from a regulations point of view, it would be very easy to make the cars go faster. But one has to gradually claw back what is gained by natural development. So you can't start the cycle going faster than the previous one. Then, you know, in 20 years from now, you can imagine what would happen. So I think it's natural that the cars are a bit slower, but I don't think we are anywhere near the ‘it's not a Formula 1’ discussion in any way or shape.

Q: Can we bring in maybe Paul or Simone on the simulations in terms of lap times? What are you seeing on your simulators?
PM: For me, it's a little bit track dependent. We have what we might term energy-rich circuits and energy-poor circuits. So it’s easier to fill the energy store on some tracks. And then the lap time is a little bit slower. Some of the poorer ones, we're struggling a little bit at the moment — we're a bit more than that off. But one of the great difficulties at the moment is trying to actually establish how much grip we're going to have. We can have an aero map, and it says we'll make this level of downforce — is it actually reality? Once we have the final tyres from Pirelli, maybe they're a little bit better, a little bit worse. And it has quite a knock-on effect to your overall lap time. So, yes, they'll be a little bit slower. I don't think we’ll be Formula 2-paced. I hope not. So that’s where we would be.

Q: From an engineering point of view, how much do you relish a brand new car and the optimisation of it?
PM: It's a different challenge, isn't it? With these cars, we keep thinking we're approaching the asymptote, and then we go and find new avenues to explore. But with a new set of regulations and our new engine as well, there's all sorts of opportunities to find ways to improve it. So I think the scope of work will be quite significant, but the opportunities are big. So, yeah, as long as we can do a half decent job and keep ourselves in a good shape, we’ll see where we are.
SR: Yeah, I tend to echo this time, Paul… and yeah, lap times will be quite a bit different in the different tracks with different energy sensitivities. Also tyres are a bit of an unknown — even if all of us have done a bit of work with Pirelli with the mule car testing — so we had already some preview about what we can expect. And like Paul said, there's a lot to learn in every area, including electronics, the new control unit and so on. So a lot to learn. And the best teams will be the ones that will be learning quicker and reacting quicker to the findings at the start of the season.

Q: (John Noble – The Race) One to Nikolas about more current topics. There's been some discussion since Brazil, prompted by McLaren, about the engine change situation — regarding making a change for performance. Does it fall within the cost cap or outside the cost cap? It’s not explicitly covered within the regulations. Can you explain what is and isn't inside the financial restrictions?
NT: What we've not been keen to get involved in, as the FIA at the moment, is a situation where when there's an engine change, we have to argue with the team or the PU manufacturer whether a bit of telemetry indicates potentially a reliability issue or not. We don't feel we have the expertise to argue with them whether it's really a reliability or strategic change. And, again, in some cases it's obviously in one or the other camp. But when you're in that crossover area, it would be difficult. So this has been a weakness in the current regulations — the combination of Financial plus Technical and Sporting — and it's been an area where we've adopted this approach where we accept these changes without getting into discussion about the impact on the cost cap. However, it has been one of the areas where next year, with the cost cap for the PU manufacturers as well as the teams, this matter is resolved, because the PU manufacturers would never find it convenient to make a strategic change, because each time it's going to cost them approximately the cost of an engine — a million, if it's just the internal combustion or whatever. And that will provide a natural mechanism. So we think it's a weakness in the current set of regulations, where there's no PU cost cap, but we think it gets resolved completely next year. It will stop being a topic of discussion.

Q: Andy, can I come back to you — with regards to the 2026, there’s going to be a lot going, both in the car and on the pit wall. How complex are the races going to be next year?
AS: I think they're going to be really interesting. There's a lot of work for us all to do, and there's a lot for us to learn, which is why these pre-season tests are so important, because we've started work on simulations and things, but there's nothing like getting to the track and actually making it work.
So it's going to be very busy. I think it's one of those things that we're going to get used to very, very quickly. We're talking about the cars maybe being a bit slower than they are now, but what we mustn't forget is what we're introducing. We're introducing a new form of hybrid, which is really exciting, and we're powering the combustion part of that power unit with sustainable fuels. I mean, it's fantastic news. So I think we should be celebrating that and looking forward to what we can bring and how much faster we can make the cars once we get used to them.

Q: Simone, juggling 2025 and 2026 development has been complex for the teams this year. Can you just tell us a little more about how difficult that has been?
SR: I think it has been probably one of the most difficult years in recent times in Formula 1. Like we said before, everything is new on '26. So it requires a massive amount of effort from the chassis group, from the power unit group, from the fuel supplier and partner. Altogether with very tight racing season this year, it’s been difficult to manage all the resources within the budget cap, with the aerodynamic constraints about how much we can develop it. So a very complex and challenging problem, which is probably the nice part of our job — having those very complex objectives to achieve and very exciting moments. With all those news, it makes it very fun for us.

Q: When did Mercedes begin its 2026 development? Specifically with the chassis?
SR: On the chassis side, essentially I believe every team has started a bit earlier than this year, doing the initial work with the concept, going hand-in-hand with the FIA, trying to support the finalisation of the new regulations. The project started a while ago. Now, of course, once you enter into the current year and when you can develop in the tunnel, then everyone, I'm sure, has been ramping up their effort. So let's say the initial work probably started a year and a half ago, and then we stepped up gradually, with a bigger step going into the new year once we could develop the cars in the tunnel.

Q: (Ronald Vording – Motorsport.com) Question to Nikolas, but the others can add if they want.
It’s another one on current cars, because yesterday, several drivers said they will not miss the current generation of cars. Max Verstappen said, “My back is falling apart,” and mentioned feet are hurting and other physical discomfort. So have the current cars been more physically challenging for drivers than you anticipated, and has it gone too far?
NT: I think the main issue you're referring to is the fact that cars have been running very low and very stiff. That was something that, overall, had not been anticipated in the generation of these current cars. The natural direction of the aerodynamics for next year still favours low-running cars more than high-running cars — but not by the same amount. The slope of aerodynamics versus ride height is reduced, which means that the optimum will be a bit higher, and the cars will be running, we believe, a bit softer overall in order to have mechanical grip. Clearly, that is what we're speculating. We're not actually sitting there determining the conditions of the cars, but all indications we have are that it will be a bit better in that respect. But we’ll know for sure once we see the cars running.
SR: And I guess it's also fair to say that, like in every regulation change, this problem has been clearer and stronger at the start of this cycle. So in 2022, there were a lot of porpoising issues and drivers complaining about that. And then, like in every cycle, month after month, year after year, teams understand the dynamics, understand how to cope with them — and the problem is kind of vanishing at the end of the cycle. So in every cycle, there's going to be a lot of new things to learn. It's going to be very exciting, and teams will take the time to sort out those issues.

Q: Paul, how will you look back on the current regulation?
PM: 2023!

Q: Fond memories.
PM: I suppose we broke through in 2021. And then we said, “Oh, we've developed that car too late. We'll be poor in 2022.” Ferrari came out of the box a little bit faster. We, I think, pulled ourselves up and had a good run of four years. This year, maybe in the middle, we've dropped away a bit, but we've kept going on this car, and it's yielding the rewards now — which is a testament to all the hard work that's gone in at Milton Keynes and will continue as we go into the next generation. So, I look back upon it as we've been very successful — and quite lucky in being that.

Q: (Edd Straw – The Race) Nikolas again, you mentioned that the wake characteristics have been much improved. Can you quantify that in some way and also explain what the key areas of sensitivity are in terms of the rules and the permitted geometries that you’ve had to focus and make a little bit more tight, in order to get that effect and hopefully maintain it, given you've got 10 teams out there throwing resources at breaking what you're trying to achieve?
NT: Let me say, first of all, that the 2022 cars started off with a significant improvement in their wake characteristics. I don’t remember the exact numbers, but the loss of downforce at, say, 20 metres behind — if I remember correctly, and I’m risking saying slightly false numbers here — went from about 50% on the previous generation of cars to about 80 or 85% to start with on the 2022 cars. And then that gradually decayed during the regulation cycle to what it is now, which again I’m not entirely sure — but we are probably talking more like 70%. This is why we see that cars are currently struggling a bit more now following each other than in 2022, albeit still better than it was in 2021. We believe that the start of the new cycle will be more like 90% or something like that. So we believe it’s going to be better than it’s ever been. And we've learned that in some areas of the current generation regulations, some, let's say, loopholes or unintended designs caused a significant worsening. The front wing endplate area is one clear area where this happened, where the front wing endplates morphed into shapes that permitted quite a lot of outwash. The inside of the front brake drums also worsened the characteristics. The side of the floors was another one. All of these areas, little by little, contributed to the worsening of the characteristics of the current cars. We think that in developing the regulations for '26, we have learned a lot from that, and we hope we will maintain the good characteristics for a longer period — or hopefully not have this decay again. There will definitely be some, but hopefully not as much as we had during this cycle.

Q: (Jon Noble – The Race) To the team representatives — the pre-season period is often a lot of games between teams: fake images at launches, hiding parts in the tests, disguising your pace, holding back the final parts until the very first race. When things are so radically different going into '26, do you expect that to be more extreme next season, or can you not afford to mess about and play around because you need as many answers yourself as possible?
PM: I'm just wondering how to answer your questions. I'm going to offer all the answers here. I think I'll offer a pragmatic view. It’s going to be quite a struggle to get to Barcelona. And if you think we’re going to turn up with two versions of a top body — one is real and one is fake — no. If we get there in good shape and the car runs, fine. We've then got something to build upon, rather than trying to confuse ourselves with multiple options of it. There’ll still be all the games — what are you doing with the energy, which fuel you’ve got on board, is it your race one package, is it your launch package, is it different? So that will all go on — and that's fine. That’s part of it. As we go towards the second Bahrain test, it might be possible to pick a bit of an initial running order from that. But these are prototype type cars, we can change them. So even if we are disappointed at the second Bahrain test it doesn’t mean that will be the same thing that goes to Australia. If we can engineer a change and bring it to the car and draw benefit from it, we will, as will Mercedes, Aston Martin, as will everybody in the pit lane So it might not be as flagrant as it has been in the past with one week’s testing — it was difficult. I think we’ll hit the ground running with what we've got in Barcelona.
SR: Yeah, I suppose it’s always difficult to understand what the others are doing in terms of fuel levels, power unit utilisation, etc. So it’s always very difficult to read into the timing for the first three tests. The only thing I can say is that we are working flat out to extract the maximum from our package — both in Brackley and in Brixworth, and also Petronas — we are working very strongly. They are not thinking too much about others and what they will show, etc. We just push flat out and see what we can get into Melbourne. There’s still a lot of work to do. You kindly reminded us that we’ve got 10 weeks to go, which is quite scary — but in 10 weeks, we can do a lot of stuff. And we are just concentrating on this one — doing our programme, trying to make sure the car will work in a reliable manner at the test. Still a lot to do. And then in Melbourne we’ll start to see what is going to be the pecking order. But like we’ve seen this year, it’s changing on a race-to-race basis. So imagine on a brand-new regulation with so many things to learn — I think we probably will need, I don’t know, three, four, five races to get a feel about what is the right order of the teams.
AS: Yeah. First, thanks to Paul for letting us know what their development plan is for the start of the season. But I think we’ll all just be doing our own thing. We've got so much to do and so much to learn that it might look from the outside that we're playing games, but I’m sure we'll all be working very, very hard to our own set agendas — just to gather as much information as we can so we can turn up to the first race being as strong as possible. I don't think we’ll have that much time to look at each other, to be honest. I think we’ll have enough on our plates just to focus on what we're doing.

Q: (Adam Cooper – Adam Cooper F1) For the three team guys — what are your expectations for Cadillac in their first year? What are the biggest challenges they face starting from scratch? And secondly, a couple of you have worked very closely with Checo. Do you think he can basically rebuild his career and bounce back next year?
AS: Yeah. I mean, it’s very difficult for us to say how Cadillac are going to manage it. They’re obviously putting together a very professional team, and they have good finances behind them. As for Checo — I’m a huge fan of Checo, and I’d love to see him relaunch his career. He is a fantastic talent, he’s a great race driver, and I think it would be great to see him back on the circuit again. So I’m looking forward to that. I’m hoping that Cadillac don’t go too well — but they’re certainly someone we’re not going to dismiss. They are a genuine challenge, and from what we've seen so far, they'll be a very professional outfit.
PM: If you take everything we’ve discussed — new car, new power units, new tyres, new electronics, the sustainable fuels — and then you are trying to build a team into that, you kind of have an idea of what Cadillac have taken on. So best of luck to them. With Checo, yes, he finished with us struggling a little bit to keep up with his teammate. Perhaps a year off, a bit of sunshine, reset the brain, and he’ll come back — and he’ll be fighting fit and fairly quick, I feel.
SR: Yeah. First of all, let’s not forget Valtteri — who is going to be back in the business for Cadillac. It is very exciting for him, and it’s a good opportunity to be back after one year of stop. And Cadillac, they are investing a lot, hiring a lot of people, they are approaching the problem in a nice way, as far as we can see from outside. It’s a lot of challenge, like we said, but also they count on a Ferrari power unit only. So they’ve got one problem less, let’s say, to look after. And I think they can be in the mix. We have seen in some of the small teams — like in my previous experience at Haas — that you can start a new cycle with a very small team and do nice things from the beginning. So I wouldn’t underestimate them. It’s going to be a challenge, but everyone can do it.