Outside Line: World at war an opportunity to fix Formula 1? Testing, Testing, Testing...
F1 OpinionWednesday, 18 March 2026 at 15:55
It’s hard to find positives in a world at war. And even crazier to be selfish enough to see the benefits of cancelling the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to save face for Formula 1.
Waking up each morning, bypassing the fake news mainstream media and trying to find truth in a world gone crazier than I, or any conspiracy theorist, ever imagined. I find myself confused, bemused, angered, amused and often emotional about what is going on.
We have very close friends in the Middle East, including our editor, Jad Mallak and many of my former colleagues and mates from my Dubai days. Be safe all!
Blinded by the smoke of war and disinformation, I can offer no insight into that chaos or how it will pan out. I only hope good starts winning the war against evil. Other than that, nothing to say.
Nevertheless, albeit trivially, with the USA-Israel-Iran War in full swing, when it comes to my sport, Formula 1, I have plenty to say. As we begin what should have been a magnificent new era and new season in turmoil
Let’s be honest. No one, apart from a very small cabal of people paid to spin a narrative, is happy with these Formula 1 rules. Throw into that Mercedes works team, and their drivers, Max Verstappen has already pointed this out. I do not want to harp on it because I have written about it before here>>>
The fact remains that McLaren, reigning Formula 1 World Champions, did not even make the grid at the Chinese Grand Prix, which is ample proof that something is dastardly wrong.
Mercedes did a fantastic job but...
What we saw in Melbourne and Shanghai was anti-racing. Although on the surface it appeared exciting at times, it was a pretend contest. It was fake. Call it what you want, but it was not Formula 1. And those who know, know!
Granted, Mercedes did a fantastic job and does not deserve to have their success overshadowed by this tainted formula. Rules are rules and they got it right. Kimi Antonelli and George Russell deserve their plaudits and victories, given they have been handed excellent machinery.
But even if every car were as good as the Mercedes, the racing would still be artificial. We saw that clearly in the early so-called duel, aka the Russell playing with the Ferrari duo like a cat would amuse itself with mice. Yes, it was entertaining in a Disney kinda way. Yes, it was fun like Mario Kart or go-karting. But that is not Formula 1.
Formula 1 is about flat-out racing. Heavy braking into tight corners. Insane slipstreams. Big dives and big blocks. Hair-raising moves. It is not being overtaken mid-straight because your battery dies. Not cars running side by side through corners at half the speed they should be travelling, harvesting energy at top speed, as if that counts as racing.
Bahrain and Jeddah cancellation is a chance to fix things
In ten days, we have the Japanese Grand Prix, and after that, we have the whole of April devoid of Formula 1, with Bahrain and Jeddah struck off the 2026 F1 calendar. If Suzuka is a similar sh!tshow to China with the DNSs and DNFs etc, FOM and FIA must engineer a way for teams to get race-ready, and write off the first three races as rehearsals.
The likes of Williams are almost beyond saving this season. Cadillac is totally out of its depth. Audi, who entered the sport on the back of the rules changes they demanded, are rubbish. Aston Martin is the worst.
Lawrence Stroll's 'Dream Team' is a total joke and a massive disappointment considering the investment and the number of 'clever' people they attracted to make spoilt brat Lance crack a smile. Sadly, Aston Martin is not only the biggest flop in Formula 1 history, but also in sporting history. Never, has so much money been spent to buy success and not deliver so blatantly.
Solution. Give them time, even if it has to be done behind closed doors. This new era Formula 1 needs extensive testing, testing, testing, testing!
This is a crisis. An emergency. Let the teams test. Break the budget cap if necessary. Provide additional allowances. Do something to fix this.
Damage control required
Because it is already clear that these engines are a one-way street. There is very little room to improve them significantly. They are not going to be turned into something resembling proper Formula 1 power units overnight.
So if we cannot change the concept, then at least perfect it. Get it to a level where the field feels genuinely level. In April, the F1 schedulers need to put aside an early April 4-5 days at Barcelona, and the same for a stint at Mugello or Monza.
Make them do laps, race starts, simulate race distances, even how to start thjeir amned PUs. F1 teams net to get on top of this, get their lines right because the first two 'shows' were unacceptable. Will Suzuka be better?
If teams are not allowed to catch up in some way, we may as well start engraving the World Champion trophies now with the names Russell or Antonelli, and certainly Mercedes, from now until 2030.
On top of that, Mercedes should be obliged to explain to customer teams like McLaren, Alpine and Williams (a lost cause for other reasons) what makes their engines so effective. Perhaps the chassis plays a role, but it is hard to believe McLaren’s drop off is purely chassis-related. That looks engine-driven.
Mercedes need to get their customers up to speed
The Merc customers primarily need to be on the same page in the manual as the works team. They are clearly not. Toto Wolff, as the boss of the engine supply pipeline to these teams, has an obligation to make sure his customers are on top of their engine game.
As much as it pains me that we won't be reporting the Grand Prix weekends in Bahrain and Jeddah, we have to take positives from the negatives. Before Miami, a race we cannot afford to turn into another embarrassment, something has to change.
If Miami even goes ahead as planned (who knows with this war and the international landscape changing hourly), Formula 1 must arrive there in the USA in a better state than the first two races.
So open up testing. Go back to the old ways if necessary. Let the teams get their act together before the show continues. They have saved massively by axing two races off the calendar, investing it in emergency testing.
Formula 1 fans have no option but to tolerate this for the next five years, at least the sport's owners and pimps owe us eleven top teams, with top cars.
Right now we have two top teams, and four race cars! Two of those are Mercedes drivers, and have yet to be beaten in any form of Qualifying or race since things got going in Melbourne.
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