Guenther Steiner says Formula 1 teams should have been more vocal about current regulations in 2025

Without going into the details of why the 2026 regulations are a disaster, which is a topic that has been well documented, the fact remains that all the sport's stakeholders, Formula One Management (FOM), the governing FIA, and power unit manufacturers—both exiting and newcomers—have colluded in developing the dysfunctional set of regulations we now have to live with.

While opinions vary on who is more to blame, former Haas F1 Team boss Guenther Steiner was asked who he thought was the culprit.

He said: "I don't think it's a governance problem. I wouldn't blame the FIA solely for what is happening now.

"I blame the teams as much as the FIA, because the teams have got more data than the FIA, because they are the ones developing the cars and the power units.

"They should have been more vocal this past year and put more effort into it so they didn't have to change it after 3 races. They could have avoided that by doing it before the season started," he added.

History shows that Red Bull Racing, when Christian Horner was still their boss, and Max Verstappen sounded the alarms back in 2023 when they started seeing the results of the simulations, but their concerns were ridiculed by the FIA, FOM, and the likes of Toto Wolff, the latter saying they simply were in trouble with their new engine program.

What's done is done now, and despite FOM and the FIA announcing changes to the regulations ahead of the 2026 Miami Grand Prix, it is doubtful much will change.

But Steiner believes it is up to the FIA now to lead the way back to recovery, adding: "The FIA must admit that something is wrong.

"If they say everything they did was perfect, then I wouldn't buy that; nobody would. But sometimes admitting we can do better and then doing it shows how strong you are.

"And that is what they have to show us now, we have to see that the FIA can admit that something wasn't perfect to start off with, and prove they have the will and power to fix it," he concluded.

It is notable that Steiner did not mention the FOM when it came to appointing responsibilities here, as it was clear all along how they had been bending over to attract car manufacturers, one of many other questionable decisions taken since Liberty Media bought it. (Source: Casino.org)