F1 | Bearman: "The Suzuka accident was a result of the 2026 regulations, I was lucky."

The unusual spring break of this 2026, caused by the forced postponement of the stages in Bahrain e Saudi Arabia, has not cooled the spirits in the paddock of the Formula 1. On the contrary, the break has sparked a fierce debate on the very nature of the current single-seaters, coming from a Japanese Grand Prix which has left behind more doubts than certainties. At the heart of the storm is the accident that occurred in Oliver Bearman at the Spoon curve, an impact from 50G which reopened the process of a technical regulation that was not only technologically insipid, but also dangerous for the safety of the drivers.

The dynamics of the collision between the British driver's Haas and the Alpine Franco Colapinto highlighted the systemic flaw of the new hybrid era: extreme energy management. With a power distribution of the 50-50 Between the internal combustion engine and the electric motor, the instantaneous speed differences between those recovering energy and those using boost have reached levels never seen before in the history of motorsport, transforming track duels into a high-speed game of Russian roulette.

Bearman's attack: "Unacceptable maneuvers"

Fortunately, Oliver Bearman escaped unharmed from a collision that left him noticeably limping, and he didn't mince words when describing the incident at Suzuka. The Haas driver blamed his Argentine colleague's defensive maneuver, believing it was untimely given the current performance of the cars.

“I think it's the first time in the history of this sport, or at least since I can remember following it, that two drivers fighting for the same position find themselves with such a frightening speed discrepancy – said the Ferrari driverIt's a disastrous side effect of these rules, but we're talking about a gap of as much as 50 kilometers per hour. Franco changed trajectory just as I was coming up to protect the line. If we were in last season, a similar move would have been considered borderline but perhaps tolerable, because the differences were only a few kilometers per hour."

"However, with a 50 km/h delta, I was given no room and was forced to make an emergency maneuver to avoid a collision that could have ended much worse. When it veered to the left, that movement seemed minimal, but with such a speed difference, any maneuver becomes gigantic. I consider myself lucky not to have hit it head-on."

Bearman's bitterness also stems from the failure to respect a gentlemen's agreement signed a few days before the start in Japan. The drivers, aware of the risks associated with the new power delivery profiles, had agreed to a more cautious approach: "We discussed this aspect at length during the Friday briefing, and this makes it all the more irritating. The drivers looked each other in the eyes and clearly stated that more mutual respect was needed."

"We had agreed to move forward with the defensive maneuvers, precisely because the speed gaps today are wider than ever before. Seeing what happened just two days later is unacceptable. We absolutely must find an internal understanding; we need a different level of fairness, because the way he acted on the track left me disappointed."

Safety or Entertainment? The FIA's Crossroads

The Bearman incident has accelerated work at institutional offices. Among the 9 and the 16 AprilThe FIA ​​has held a series of emergency meetings to analyze six possible technical solutions to be implemented as early as the Miami Grand Prix. The goal is to modify the power delivery profiles to prevent the creation of speed walls at critical points such as Spoon and 130R.

Bearman remains one of the most vocal voices calling for immediate intervention, aware that the survival of pilots cannot be relied upon solely on individual common sense in such a competitive environment.

I believe there's room for maneuver with the Federation to make changes; we're actively collaborating to try to eliminate these dangerous speed gaps. A 50 km/h difference is the typical gap between those pushing hard and those on their pit lane; seeing these dynamics play out during a position-defending phase is too risky.

"Last year, we were always driving at the limit, making last-minute changes. Now we've entered a new phase where the limits aren't yet entirely clear. I sincerely hope that, in theory, we won't have to see similar situations for the rest of the championship. I'm confident we'll see a significant improvement."

The decisive vote, scheduled for the 20th April, will determine whether Formula 1 will have the courage to admit the partial failure of these regulations or whether it will continue with simple palliatives, as Bearman himself defines them. The feeling in the paddock is that the 2026 hybrid technology, pushed to excess for marketing reasons, has sacrificed the purity of racing and, even more seriously, the safety of those in the cockpit. Miami will be the ultimate test: without structural corrections, the risk of an accident with consequences far worse than the one at Suzuka will remain a constant threat for the rest of the season.