Sebastian Vettel tells Lewis Hamilton why he shouldn’t be worried about F1’s 2026 regulation changes

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Sebastian Vettel has explained why Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s fears about the 2026 regulations being too complicated for fans shouldn’t be a huge concern.

Lewis Hamilton remarked during the first week of pre-season testing in Bahrain that fans would need a ‘university degree’ to understand what’s going on with this year’s cars.

The 2026 regulations have introduced a raft of changes, including new power units and active aerodynamics that will see both wings on the cars open and close at various points during the lap.

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Ferrari have developed a power unit with a smaller turbo due to concerns over race starts, while Mercedes might have found a loophole in the rules over the compression ratio of their engine.

Sebastian Vettel was one of Hamilton’s fiercest rivals during his time in the sport, and has now explained why he and other drivers who are worried about this year’s racing shouldn’t be too concerned.

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Sebastian Vettel compares 2026 regulations to 2014 changes after Lewis Hamilton concerns

Vettel was asked by ServusTV about Hamilton’s comment when he suggested that fans would need a ‘university degree’ to understand F1’s new regulations.

The four-time world champion responded: “He has a lot of experience, and I think he’s very good at assessing things, and that’s where the difficulty lies at the moment, I think.

“And if you rewind a bit, to 2013 and 2014, a lot of things settled down very quickly.

“I think a lot will settle down this way, too, but also this year or for the next generation of vehicles, I think it’s very, very important.

“At the moment, Formula 1 is totally in, and people think it’s really cool. And I think that in order to stay on this high, it’s now crucial to really explain what has happened and what’s behind it.

“Then it may be that in a few years’ time we’ll be back at a crossroads and have to ask ourselves, where is Formula 1 really going? Of course, there are different approaches from the driver’s point of view.

“You want the cars to be fast, you want them to be aggressive, you want to be able to push, and you don’t want to be so busy turning buttons or getting stuck in different modes and going from one meeting to the next.

“But you have to be honest, this is modern Formula 1. Meetings are there, meetings are long, and they also affect how you can make a difference.

“I haven’t driven the cars, I can’t judge conclusively, but maybe at the moment it’s a bit much, and I wish, or I would like to see a really good attempt to explain it and make an effort and then try to assess whether this is the right way or whether there might be other ways and so on.”

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The FIA are considering changing compression ratio testing over Mercedes trick fears

One of the biggest talking points heading into the Australian Grand Prix in March is how much of an advantage Mercedes might have created by finding a way to increase the compression ratio of their power unit.

Rival teams aren’t happy with the FIA’s current testing, despite the fact that Mercedes reportedly passed a test of their compression ratio at above ambient temperatures.

It now looks like the FIA will change the way they test compression ratios, which could change the pecking order on the grid midway through the season.

Ferrari’s potential advantage from race starts hasn’t been addressed yet, and at this stage of any regulations, as Vettel explained, a lot is changing from race to race.

All Leclerc and Hamilton will be worried about is how competitive the SF-26 is, even if racing has become more complicated under the new regulations.