Stefano Domenicali says Formula 1 cannot be in a corner where manufacturers dictate the sport

It has become clear over the course of the past couple of months that Formula One Management (FOM) and the FIA have painted themselves and the sport into a corner for catering extensively to the whims of car manufacturers whose commitment to F1 has never proven consistent or reliable.

Hence, we ended up with the current set of regulations, which are significantly flawed to the extent that the latest tweaks decided by FOM and the FIA are merely minor plastic surgery, far from enough to fix the situation.

However, Domenicali has been sending out messages left, right, and center recently about the situation within the sport, insisting that racing is great, all is good, and some minor adjustments are more than enough to perfect the 2026 F1 power units.

But he has also been sending signals in the opposite direction regarding manufacturers, blaming them for the situation F1 is currently in, while making sure to point out how grateful he is for their involvement in the sport.

Domenicali basically said that manufacturers dictated the current rules as they insisted on higher electrification due to the political landscape at the time when the regulations were finalized as well as linking racing to mobility.

The Italian admits the future may be different, and in his recent interview with Motorsport.com and after insisting racing is great, he added this interesting soundbite.

He said: "I think first of all we are in a moment, a unique moment, where we don't have to mix mobility and racing. But of course, racing is done by teams and manufacturers.

"And therefore, what I said, if you look how quickly the landscape of the manufacturers changed after Dieselgate—and I was at that time at Audi—is impressive.

"Therefore, if I connect these two elements that should be kept separate, it is true that at that time there was that clear indication from all the manufacturers that either we go in this direction or we will not be interested in motorsport.

"And I could be even more direct. If we would have had an independent manufacturer, we could have said, you know what? Okay, let's offer a white label F1-FIA engine to the teams who want to race; let's go for it.

"But we didn't. There was no one at that time [to produce] like the old Ford Cosworth, the independent engine, and so on. So that's the status of five years ago.

"Now it's clear that electrification has shifted versus hybridization," Domenicali pointed out. "And everyone understands that if sustainable fuel will be there in terms of quantity with the right pricing for consumers, it could be the way to be realistically ready to tackle the emission point.

"Today we have 1.6 billion cars, something like that, plus commercial vehicles, plus trucks. If someone can believe that we can shift from day to night all these vehicles to electric cars—it's impossible.

"Therefore, you know, unfortunately, I said that with responsibility; certain politicians at the European level didn't understand that, creating problems for the European industry that is almost unrecoverable [now] or difficult to recover. But that's something related to the automotive industry," he explained.

Then comes the more interesting part of Domenicali's statement, where it is clear the Formula 1 and car manufacturers are now in what can clearly be described as a love-hate relationship.

"Manufacturers are a vital piece of what we are doing," he claimed. "We need to thank them every day and every night because without them it would be impossible.

"But we cannot be anymore in a corner where manufacturers can dictate the pace to the sport. That's a lesson learned that I think that will enable us, together with the FIA that is the main [body] responsible for regulation, the regulator, to find the right package that allows the two worlds to live, to co-exist.

"Because we want the manufacturers to be in, no doubt. But we cannot be put in a sort of a corner that 'take it or leave it.' That's the thing that we need to do in the next couple of years," the F1 supremo maintained.

Going forward, Domenicali said: "I definitely see, personally, but it's up, of course, to the FIA to propose that, a sort of sustainable fuel [formula] for sure at the center of the future [rules], with no discussion, with a different balance of what could be the electrification in the future with a strong internal combustion engine.

"Because that's motorsport. It will allow to save a lot of kilos, to have pure racing in that respect, in terms of a lighter car, smaller cars that you can really push as much as you can.

"So that, I would say, is going into the direction, I believe, but I'm not the only one; that's my opinion. [With] that, the purists should be happier. But that's what I believe, as I said, in terms of all the elements together that we need to consider. It would be wrong, you know, not to have learned what has happened," he explained.

But then, the former Ferrari boss suddenly goes back to defending the current racing, blaming the weight of the cars rather than the heavy reliance on electrification:

He said: "Even if, as I said, in terms of pure racing, the racing itself, with some adjustment, it is great [racing] on the track. Don't misunderstand me that. But the car is still very heavy. The battery has put a lot of things that have to be considered when you design a car.

"So these are the things that we need to process and to react," Domenicali, clearly stuck between a rock and a hard place, concluded.