3 Months After Lewis Hamilton’s Suggestion Got Snubbed, ‘Majority’ of Teams Now Demand Same Rule Change to Level the Field

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has been an unhappy man as arch-rivals Red Bull have dominated the 2023 season by winning 16 of the 17 races. Since the Milton Keynes outfit have been so dominant, the Briton suggested a rule change to level the playing field in the seasons ahead. While the 38-year-old did not receive much support at the time, it seems that a “majority” of teams are now demanding the same change, as per AmuS.

Since no team has come even close to challenging newly crowned champions Red Bull for the title this year, the Milton Keynes outfit had the luxury to start working on the 2024 car much ahead of their rivals. Hamilton believed that the same is unfair as no team shall be able to work on next year’s car so early on in the season.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qmGtvdVuPU8

As a result, he suggested the FIA introduce a timeline for when teams can start working on next year’s car. While the seven-time world champion only made a suggestion back then, more teams have now begun to demand the same.

“Majority” of teams support Hamilton’s suggestion

According to a report put out by AMuS, the technical directors have discussed Lewis Hamilton’s suggestions closely during their technical working group (TAC) meetings. A “majority” of them were in favor of no team being allowed to work on the 2026 aerodynamic development in the wind tunnel and in CFD simulations before January 2025.

However, in order for this solution to pass, the F1 Commission and the FIA World Council have to approve the same. As per the report, this “should only be a formality“.

Majority of teams push for a rule change to not allow aero development for the 2026 cars before Jan 2025.

Expect a lot of carry-over parts from 2024 to 2025 & very little development during the 2025 season due to budget cap restraints.

AMuS (in German): https://t.co/sk90Yx0NRN

— Tobi Grüner 🏁 (@tgruener) October 16, 2023

AMuS reporter Tobi Grüner adds that if the F1 Commission and the FIA World Council approve this rule change, then one can “expect a lot of carry-over parts from 2024 to 2025 and very little development during the 2025 season due to budget cap restraints“. The F1 Commission could approve the same as Stefano Domenicali has often discussed about him wanting to find ways to make the sport more interesting.

Hence, if this rule change receives approval, then teams are likely to have a level playing field going into the 2026 season. Hamilton had hoped for the same when he suggested this rule change three months ago. However, back then he received massive backlash.

Max Verstappen slams Lewis Hamilton for his hypocrisy

Since Red Bull and Max Verstappen are on top now, there is no surprise that Lewis Hamilton’s call for a rule change annoyed them most. When asked about the same earlier this year, the Dutchman without any hesitation told reporters in Spielberg (as per De Telegraaf), “Life isn’t fair. I didn’t hear him say this when he won titles all these years, did I? Then it doesn’t seem appropriate to me now“.

Similarly to Verstappen, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also criticized Hamilton for his suggestions. The 49-year-old stated (as quoted by racefans.net) that the Mercedes driver’s suggestions are “impractical” as it will be “incredibly hard” for the FIA to police teams regarding the same.

“How on Earth could you say, ‘right, go!’? How do you prevent people thinking about or working on next year’s cars,” questioned Horner. However, if the F1 Commission and the FIA World Council do introduce a rule change about when teams can start working on the 2026 car, then Red Bull’s domination could be under serious threat.