F1 fans say FIA have made 2026 rules even ‘worse’ with Japanese Grand Prix qualifying change

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The FIA have announced ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix that the battery recharge limit for qualifying has been lowered, provoking a backlash from some F1 fans.

The first two races of the year in Australia and China have produced plentiful action throughout the pack, even if Max Verstappen has criticised the ‘Mario Kart’ style of battling, along with some of his fellow drivers.

However, there is agreement among the teams that qualifying needs attention. ‘Superclipping’ has infuriated F1 fans, with drivers losing speed at the end of prolonged flat-out stretches after depleting their battery.

The FIA were even accused of disguising the problem at the previous race in Shanghai by cutting away from onboard footage when it kicked in.

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‘Trying to cover a bullet hole with a Band-Aid’ – F1 fans criticise Japanese Grand Prix rule change

On Thursday, the FIA confirmed that, with the agreement of all five power unit manufacturers, a ‘minor adjustment’ had been made to the regulations for qualifying. The maximum energy recharge per lap has been lowered from 9MJ to 8MJ.

This apparently reflects feedback from the drivers and places a greater emphasis on their individual performance. The move, which is seen as part of an ‘optimisation’ process, isn’t guaranteed to be permanent.

Some fans on Reddit are highly sceptical. One said qualifying was about to become ‘slower all around’ now that drivers have less deployment to play with.

Another said ‘this just feels worse’ because the car can’t reach its full capabilities.

“I thought their goal was to improve qualy, not make it worse,” a fellow fan agreed.

Two more users agreed that the regulations were a ‘mess’, with F1 forced to slow the cars down ‘to solve the problem they created’.

A final comment read: “Trying to cover a bullet hole with a Band-Aid. Nice.”

Why F1 qualifying will actually be far better to watch at Suzuka

F1 cars have slowed down this year following the rule changes, but not as much as expected. Indeed, George Russell’s 1:31.5 Sprint pole time at the Chinese GP (the fastest lap of the weekend) was within a second of Oscar Piastri’s 1:30.6 from a year before.

While faster cars don’t always guarantee better racing – the spectacular start to the season proves that point – they do tend to improve the qualifying spectacle. On that basis, one can understand why some see the Japan rule change as a step in the wrong direction.

• READ MORE: All 11 Formula 1 teams are now ‘very unhappy’ with ‘glitchy’ car part produced by the FIA

But it’s about finding a balance. If the cars have less overall power but can deploy it more consistently throughout the lap, then it will improve the overall spectacle.

While the new protocols won’t eliminate the farcical lift-and-coast entirely on Saturdays, they should reduce it. That gets the sport closer to its ultimate goal.

If fans feel the driver now has more influence over their lap time, they will quickly come around.