Team principals Andrea Stella and Toto Wolff have once again addressed the safety issues the 2026 F1 regulations pose and urged the FIA to take necessary action following Ollie Bearman’s massive shunt at the Japanese GP on Sunday.
The first half of the race at Suzuka saw Bearman suffer a 50G collision after being forced to take evasive action on the entry to the Spoon Curve. He ploughed through the grass and the distance boards and hit the barriers sideways as he came up behind a relatively slow-moving Franco Colapinto.
The incident occurred on Lap 22 due to a massive 50 kph speed differential between the Haas and the Alpine cars resulting from different deployment strategies. The stewards noted it but determined that no further action was necessary.
Although he managed to extract himself from the considerably damaged VF-26, Bearman was clearly experiencing sharp discomfort and required assistance from the trackside marshals. He subsequently visited the circuit’s medical centre, and an x-ray confirmed that the 20-year-old had thankfully sustained no fractures.
Stella urges the FIA to modify 2026 F1 regulations over safety concerns
Speaking in a print media session after the F1 race, Andrea Stella reflected on Bearman’s major accident at the 2026 Japanese GP and remarked that it didn’t come as a surprise. He explained how the new regulations can prompt two cars following each other closely to harvest and deploy at the same time and thereby result in a massive difference in closing speeds.
Referring to how he had flagged these issues following pre-season testing and the season opener in Melbourne, the McLaren team principal labelled Bearman as fortunate since he managed to walk away relatively unscathed.
Moreover, Stella maintained that the FIA should take a proactive stance when it comes to safety and tweak the 2026 F1 regulations urgently instead of waiting for a more serious incident to force their hand.
“When it comes to the incident that involved Oliver [Ollie Bearman], I think this situation, when you know that the closing speed can be as big as can happen with a car lifting or being in a super clip and the other cars having deployment, is not a surprise. We said that already in testing.
“It is in the agenda of the FIA in terms of the aspects of these 2026 regulations that should be improved. We don’t want to wait for things to happen to put actions in place.
“So, today, something happened. I think Oliver, luckily, he seemed like he got out of it with just some bruises but nothing too major.
“We have a responsibility to put in place the actions that, especially from a safety point of view, should be implemented.”
Wolff on potential solutions after Bearman’s accident at the 2026 F1 Japanese GP
Sharing opinions similar to Stella, Toto Wolff also commented on Bearman’s intense crash on Lap 22 and persistent safety concerns in 2026 in a print media session held after the F1 Japanese GP on Sunday.
While he emphasised that the current regulation cycle is still in its nascent stage, the Mercedes chief admitted how it’s imperative for the F1 teams and the FIA to evaluate the incident and come up with solutions to prevent one from happening in the future.
“Yeah, that’s something which we need to look at, clearly. We do not want this to happen.
“Regulations are in a very immature way. And I am sure the FIA and us teams, we’re going to analyse the accident very carefully to see how we can avoid these things.”
Asked if there’s an obvious solution to the risks the 2026 regulations are posing, Wolff responded that he didn’t have one. Nonetheless, he proclaimed that the engineers at Mercedes are racking their brains to work out potential approaches that would enable them to steer clear of such incidents on the track.
“No, but I am sure there are more competent people than me already in Mercedes scratching their heads how to avoid that.”
