Haas Formula 1 boss Ayao Komatsu has warned against any “knee-jerk” reactions to the incident between Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Bearman was around one second behind the Alpine through Suzuka’s sector two, but suddenly closed at Spoon as Colapinto harvested energy causing a 45km/h speed difference.
The Haas driver was therefore forced into evasive action, and after taking to the grass, he spun into the barriers at 50G, prompting more questions about the contentious 2026 regulations.
This time it was in relation to the closing speeds, which had already been a talking point through pre-season, that have become more severe due to how drivers opt for different battery management strategies.
Colapinto claimed it can become “really dangerous”, Carlos Sainz said “it was only a matter of time” before such a collision occurred, whereas Lando Norris thinks a driver is at the “mercy” of the power unit.
So there have been calls for changes, something that’s already occurred with the energy recovery limit in qualifying, ahead of a meeting between F1, its teams, power unit manufacturers and governing body the FIA on 9 April.
But Komatsu is eager to not see changes for the sake of it, as he told Sky Sports: “We’re looking at it from all dimensions because, when we make changes, we’ve got to make the correct ones.
“We cannot be making knee-jerk reaction changes and then a few races later be saying, ‘that was the wrong option’.
“The good thing is that the F1 community, all the teams, the FIA, F1, we’re all working together in a really open and transparent manner, which I don't think I’ve seen to this extent before.
“I’m pretty confident that F1, as a community, we’ll find the right solution to whatever things we need to improve.”
This comes amid a set of regulations which have certainly divided opinion due to their increased reliance on electrical energy – with Max Verstappen, for example, saying drastic changes are needed.
But Komatsu doesn’t think the situation is as severe, believing only tweaks are needed, citing the qualifying change because it allowed drivers to lift off later into corners at Suzuka.
“Already taking action, a small step for qualifying by reducing the amount of energy you can recover, so that was one good step,” Komatsu told print media in Suzuka.
“But we already identified several areas. The small differences – doesn't have to be wholesale changes – that can improve some of the issues we saw in Melbourne and Shanghai, and then this is another example.
“So we are collectively learning so many things, but I'm sure if we put those, let's say, relatively even minor improvements, I think you can drastically improve the show as well as the safety.
“So again, sitting here, I don't know exactly what mechanism we should do for that particular incident, but for instance, things happen in Melbourne and Shanghai, at least in my eyes, there's a pretty clear solution we can take, and which is not big.”
Additional reporting by Ronald Vording
