Max Verstappen and Red Bull have dominated Formula 1 since the turn of the new aerodynamic regulations at the start of 2022.
The Dutchman won last year’s championship by a comfortable margin, and looks all but certain to win this year’s crown.
However, Verstappen’s spell at the top could be set to end as the FIA are poised to clamp down on Red Bull.
Former Le Mans 24 Hours winner Richard Bradley believes the FIA are going to “target” Red Bull when they introduce the 2026 engine regulations, due to the Austrians being the leading team at the moment.
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Red Bull have been imperious since the new aerodynamic regulations were introduced at the start of 2022, with the previously dominant Mercedes having tumbled to third in the pecking order.
The Silver Arrows are very much still trying to recover from their downfall, whilst Red Bull – and Max Verstappen in particular – are obliterating the competition.
Red Bull have won 29 of the 34 completed races in the new era of the sport, making Bradley convinced that the governing body will try to slow the Milton Keynes-based team down when they introduce the new regs.
“The way of FOM and the FIA, they always design rule cycles specifically to screw the team that’s leading at the time, because they will literally want to put that team down,” Bradley told the On Track GP podcast this week.
“You can tell that they’re going to target Red Bull,” Bradley added.
“Then we’re going to find what makes Red Bull weak and try and exploit that. So there will come a time in the cycle that Red Bull will lose out and another manufacturer may come to the top. I think then that’s when you’re going to have to seriously reevaluate the situation.”
Lewis Hamilton has actually suggested a way the governing body could slow down Red Bull, or at least make the field more equal, amid their imperious form.
Due to Red Bull being so superior at present, they are able to start working on their next car significantly earlier than most of the other teams, something Hamilton doesn’t think should be allowed by the FIA.
The same can be said for those who have a bad car, with them currently being able to simply survive the season at the back whilst working on their car for the following season.
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This is what Haas did in 2021, where they basically used their 2020 competitor for a second season so they could focus on 2022.
Hamilton has called for the FIA to introduce a set date on when teams can start working on the following season, to make the field more equal.
“Say for example you start the season and you know you have a bad car you could just say actually I’m not going to bother with developing this car, I’ll put all this money into next year’s car and have an advantage,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.