Why Discretion Is Killing Formula One
Abstract This article is not intended as an accusation against the Federation. Rather, it is intended as a tool for dialogue and comparison, based on the belief that it is technical and regulatory debate, rather than confrontation, that moves the sport forward. However, what happened at Silverstone on Sunday, at the end of the 2026 British Grand Prix, highlights an issue that was identified well before the start of the season in an academic paper written by Magdalena Ferrer, Anirban Aly Mandal and myself, which compared the 2024, 2025 and 2026 Sporting Regulations. The paper concluded that granting Race Control greater discretion without providing clear objective criteria would inevitably lead to the kind of inconsistencies witnessed on the track on Sunday. A Longstanding Flaw The starting point here is not new. The paper said as much already [1] . Article B1.8.6 of the 2026 Regulations gives Race Control absolute discretion over whether a driver should hand back an advantage...