The FIA has confirmed that a meeting will be held in April to discuss new F1 regulations following Oliver Bearman’s crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Bearman ran onto the grass as he tried to avoid Alpine’s Franco Colapinto, who was slowing him down on the flat out run heading into Spoon Curve, spun at more than 190 mph, ran across the track and slammed into the barrier with a 50G impact.
The British driver bruised his right knee from the impact and exited the car carefully, but suffered no further injuries.
The speed difference between Bearman and Colapinto was a hot topic after Sunday’s race at Suzuka, but Bearman blamed this on new regulations for 2026 that require cars to slow down to gain energy at the end of the straight.
“It was a massive overspeed of 50km/h, which is real… I think it’s part of the new regulations and we’ll have to get used to it, but at the same time I felt like I wasn’t given much space considering the huge amount of speed I had,” he said.
“What I spoke to on Friday with the other drivers and the stewards is that we need to be a little more lenient and be a little more prepared because there’s a huge difference in speed.
“I think as a group we warned the FIA of what could happen and this was a really disappointing result with significant delta speeds that we had never seen in F1 until the new regulations came into effect.”
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Haas driver Oliver Bearman gives update on his condition after crash at Japanese Grand Prix
The FIA released a statement offering an “clarification” and said “any speculation as to the nature of any potential changes is premature.”
“Since its introduction, the 2026 Regulations have been the subject of ongoing discussion between the FIA, teams, power unit manufacturers, drivers and FOM.”
“By design, these regulations include many tunable parameters, especially regarding energy management, allowing optimization based on real-world data.
Oliver Bearman received a 50g impact when he hit the barrier.
“It is the consistent position of all parties that a structural review will take place after the start of the season to enable sufficient data to be collected and analysed. A number of meetings have therefore been scheduled in April to assess the operation of the new regulations and determine whether amendments are required.”
“Potential adjustments, particularly those related to energy management, require careful simulation and detailed analysis. The FIA will continue to work closely and constructively with all stakeholders to ensure the best possible outcome for the sport, and safety will always remain a core element of the FIA’s mission.”
Sainz: Imagine if Bearman’s accident happened on a street circuit
Carlos Sainz, director of the Williams Grand Prix Drivers Association, said the drivers met with the FIA in Suzuka and single-seater director Nicolas Tombazis said changes would be made at the next race in Miami in early May.
Sainz said “better solutions” were needed to come up with “safer ways of racing” to deal with the significant finishing speeds.
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Carlos Sainz says he hopes the FIA will come up with “better regulations” ahead of Miami after Olly Bearman’s serious crash during the Japanese Grand Prix
“I was very surprised when they said, ‘We’ll sort out qualifying and leave the race as it is because it’s exciting.’ As drivers, we’ve been very vocal that the problem is not just in qualifying but in the race,” he said.
“We have been warning that this type of accident is bound to happen. In Suzuka, we were lucky to have an escape route. Imagine going to Baku or Singapore or Las Vegas and being shut down this quickly.”
“As the GPDA, we have warned the FIA that with this set of regulations, accidents like this are going to happen more often and if we don’t want them to happen, something needs to change soon.
“I hope this sets an example and the teams listen to the drivers and not the teams and some people who say, ‘Racing is OK,’ because racing is not OK.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella warned of high finishing speeds during pre-season testing in February and said Bearman’s accident was “not surprising”.
“I think we need to look at the data. The team needs to share information about what happened to Colapinto’s car and Oliver’s car,” he said.
“Generally speaking, the reason for adding the 350km/h Super Clip is that we want to avoid the need for drivers to lift and coast, which would create an even greater speed difference with the car behind them.
“This is an incident that should be studied with some level of analytical approach. I don’t think there is a simple solution. But we have the expertise, we have the engineers and we have the variables to take some action. I think this will be considered at a meeting during the break between the FIA, the teams and F1. This should rise to the top of the agenda.”
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