Former Formula 1 technical director and designer Gary Anderson has made an appeal to the FIA. The official is calling for changes to the 2026 regulations to prevent accidents like Oliver Bearman’s from happening again this season.
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The Haas driver was the victim of a 50G collision during last Sunday’s (29) Japanese GP, and the incident continues to spark debate in the category. The crash happened due to the difference in energy usage between the Briton and Franco Colapinto.
“The FIA needs to take part of the blame for Ollie Bearman’s accident at 305 km/h (190 mph) at the Japanese Grand Prix. It was an accident waiting to happen, given that these new regulations came into force at the start of 2026,” Anderson wrote in The Telegraph.
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Gary believes that Formula 1’s current system, where cars are on the same section of the track but at very different speeds, is flawed and, in practice, can cause accidents that would be avoidable. Furthermore, he believes that similar accidents will happen again and could even have fatal consequences.
Finally, in his column, he points out that when drivers go off track, they are usually aware that they are going to hit the barrier. However, this is much less predictable due to the extreme differences in speed.
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