Carlos Sainz says he's not going to criticize "not good enough" 2026 Formula 1 regulations anymore

You can't blame Sainz, as enough was said about how bad the current F1 rules are, but the sad fact remains that we need to live with them for the time being.

And while Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali insists all is good, the changes the FIA and Formula One management introduced ahead of the Miami Grand Prix prove otherwise.

The extra changes planned for 2027, which allow for hardware changes on the power units to shift them away from electrical influence, also show that the tweaks introduced ahead of Miami were not good enough, as the nature of the venue made the situation look better than it actually was.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem announcing the return of V8s from 2030/31 onwards also indicated that F1 took a wrong turn in 2026.

The drivers expressed their dissatisfaction in Miami, and Sainz was one of those who, when asked if the regulation changes had the required effect, said: “Not for qualifying. I think for quali there's still a long way to go. As I said, I'm not going to criticize it anymore.

“I'm just trying to be productive to keep insisting that this is not good enough for F1. But it seems like at least the racing was a bit better," he added.

The FIA and FOM had to deal with several variables in Miami and not only the regulations, as the weather presented them with a challenge, especially as there is concern regarding how the 2026 F1 cars would fare in wet conditions with less downforce, narrower tyres, and punchy torque delivery from the electric motor, which meant the governing body also had to modify the regulations for wet weather - deployment and tyre blanket temperatures.

Sainz hailed the response of the sport to the weather conditions in Miami as the Grand Prix was started earlier to avoid the forecasted thunderstorms.

The Spaniard said: "Happy with the steps they did also to bring the race forward. And I think the FIA this weekend, also listening to the weather concerns with the intermediate tyres. You cannot fault them. I think they've done a brilliant job. Now everyone seems to be working in the same direction.

"I think we just need to convince a few [power unit] manufacturers that this is still not the standard that everyone should have in quali and we need to keep improving," the Williams driver concluded. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)