Federasi Otomotif Internasional (FIA) sepakat mengubah regulasi teknis mesin Formula 1 (F1) menjadi rasio 60 persen pembakaran dan 40 persen energi listrik untuk musim depan guna meningkatkan kualitas balapan serta mempertahankan para pebalap bintang.
Langkah ini diambil setelah munculnya gelombang kritik dari para pebalap terkait performa mobil saat ini, sekaligus berhasil meredam spekulasi pensiun dini dari dua bintang besar, Max Verstappen dan Lewis Hamilton, pada akhir pekan Grand Prix Kanada.
Verstappen menyambut positif perubahan ini setelah sebelumnya sempat melontarkan kritik keras terhadap regulasi mesin F1 sejak masa pengujian di Bahrain.
"I certainly think that's a great direction, we all welcome that as drivers, we all want that, I think that will eliminate a lot of the talks that we have about not going on throttle here and doing this and that. Maybe it's not perfect, and it's not the perfect world that we all want, but it certainly will be in the correct direction. And that's what we want for the future, it's what we want for racing, it's what all of us want as drivers, so the FIA are doing as much as they can, you still have to try and please a lot of people, but if you want the sport to be better, if you want the racing to be better, if you want the drivers to be better and happier, that's certainly the correct direction to go." kata Lando Norris, Pebalap McLaren.
Pebalap Red Bull Racing asal Belanda kemudian turut memberikan penegasan serupa mengenai arah masa depan kompetisi jet darat ini.
"It's definitely heading into a very positive direction. It's like the minimum I was hoping for and it's really nice that that's what they want to do. That's definitely what also the sport needs." ujar Max Verstappen, Pebalap Red Bull Racing.
Dukungan terhadap arah kebijakan baru federasi ini juga disuarakan oleh generasi pebalap muda di bawahnya.
"It's something I think is 100% a huge step in the right direction and it's something we want to see happen and we take the right decision." kata Isack Hadjar, Pebalap Formula 2.
Kendati demikian, rekan setim Lando Norris menilai regulasi baru tersebut belum sepenuhnya mengatasi masalah mendasar pada pasokan daya elektrik kendaraan.
"It's a step in the right direction, but if it's a step, it's not the fix. Even with the previous engines we had, which were 80-20 or 85-15 split, even at some circuits, we didn't have full deployment everywhere. We were very close, and at a lot of the circuits we did, but until you find a split where you can maintain that full electrical power everywhere, it's always going to be a little bit odd for us as drivers on the straights. And no matter what the split is, you're going to have these troubles with opening a qualifying lap, getting the battery in the right level. It's such a fine and difficult balancing act of having the battery in the right state, because either you start the lap with not a full battery or you start it with no boost pressure in the turbo, and there's not really a solution to that apart from changing the hardware. So that's really the only full fix, but it is a step in the right direction if we do that." tutur Oscar Piastri, Pebalap McLaren.
Sementara itu, rekan setim Verstappen di Red Bull memilih untuk bersikap realistis hingga aturan baru tersebut benar-benar diimplementasikan di lintasan balap.
"Until we run, what it means at 60-40, we don't really will know. And it will vary from circuit to circuit so much. It was really nice to see the steps FIA and F1 were willing to do in Miami. They were really much better in a much better direction. So yeah, let's see a couple of races like this and see if we can adjust for the future." kata Sergio Perez, Pebalap Red Bull Racing.
Kekhawatiran mengenai stabilitas pengembangan mobil juga disuarakan oleh kubu Ferrari yang meminta agar perubahan aturan ini dilakukan secara hati-hati.
"First of all there have been a few steps that have been going in the right direction already. Is this enough? There are still some other steps that we can make. Which are the ones that we need to do? This is another topic. Obviously those rules have been a big change and teams have been working since many years now in order to make sure that we are ready and that you take kind of a direction of development for these few years, and with the change of next year you need to be careful not changing the balance of what has been done in the past years, so that's the trickiest point. We have to do something to try and make it better, sure, but we need to be cautious in which way we do that, because every team has very different designs and very different ways they approach those rules, and to find something that makes sense for everybody and that is fair for everybody is probably a lot more complex than what we initially thought, so that's why I think it's going to be tricky to find something that is good for everybody but I know everybody is working towards that." jelas Charles Leclerc, Pebalap Ferrari.
Di sisi lain, pebalap muda dari tim Visa Cash App RB masih meragukan efektivitas dari perubahan regulasi tersebut terhadap performa keseluruhan.
"It all helps. It's just a question of whether it's enough. I don't fully know. It's positive that we're moving in this direction – improving things, trying to improve things. Whether it's enough to make a big enough difference, I really don't know. It's great that we're making this step, but the cars are a lot down on downforce than what we were in the past, almost compensate for the lack of battery that we have. Honestly, it wouldn't be fair of me to say ‘no’ until we drive them. But in my head, it's probably still not enough." kata Liam Lawson, Pebalap Visa Cash App RB.
Sentimen serupa juga diutarakan oleh pebalap Williams yang mempertanyakan esensi kecepatan murni dari kompetisi di masa depan.
"We'll see, because I think it's not finalised yet. I'm always just wondering, is it enough? Are we taking away the issues of, ‘Is it pure? Is it genuinely the fastest car, the fastest driver, does the fastest lap time?’ I don't think it would be totally fixed from what I've seen so far. As long as we can just get rid of that stuff, get rid of throttle, driving styles affecting different things, all these kinds of things, then we're kind of good to go." ujar Alex Albon, Pebalap Williams.
Di luar masalah teknis, kepastian aturan baru ini menjadi faktor krusial bagi Verstappen yang sempat menyatakan ketertarikannya pada ajang balap lain seperti Nürburgring 24 Jam.
"Yeah, definitely. I mean, I just want a good product in Formula One and that will for sure improve the product." kata Max Verstappen saat diwawancarai GPblog di Sirkuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Verstappen menegaskan kelanjutan kariernya di ajang jet darat ini sangat bergantung pada kualitas kompetisi yang dihasilkan oleh regulasi tersebut.
"It was also just depending on the future rules. So what I said before with the changes, hopefully that will happen next year, that will already help a lot. Because I've always said it doesn't matter if I had a good car or not, it's just the product and I think the product will improve like that so naturally I think then the enjoyment will go up as well." tambah Max Verstappen.
Di tengah spekulasi masa depan pebalap top, Lewis Hamilton yang sempat menjalani musim perdana yang sulit di Ferrari tanpa podium juga menegaskan komitmen jangka panjangnya.
"Yeah, I’m still in contract, so everything is 100% clear to me. I’m still focused, I’m still motivated, I still love what I do with all my heart. I’m going to be here for quite some time, so get used to it. There are a lot of people who are trying to retire me, and that’s not even on my thoughts. I’m already thinking of what will be next and planning for the next five years. But yeah, I still plan to be here for some time." tegas Lewis Hamilton, Pebalap Ferrari.
