"It's a bit late for that," laughs Max Verstappen in response to the FIA's request for driver feedback on 2026 cars.

While Stefano Domenicali was urging us not to panic, Nikolas Tombazis was effectively calling for calm whilst quietly placing a suggestion box in the paddock in the hope that someone, anyone might get the sport out of the potential fiasco it faces in terms of the 2026 rules overhaul.

Thus far, almost to a man, the feedback has been negative, and this weekend comes the litmus test, when fans get their first sight of F1 2026.

"It could go both ways," replied Carlos Sainz, when asked how the new look F1 shape up once the weekend is over. "That's why evaluating and trying to predict how it will be on TV before it even happens, I think it's not worth it," he added.

"Let's see," he continued, "whatever rules we've come up with for this year, let's put them on track and then evaluate.

The only thing I've told Stefano and the FIA is that we need to be open-minded if the first race is, or the first two or three races is, because China will be different and Japan will be different again," he admitted. "Give it maybe two or three examples, and then if clearly there's something off, something wrong, I hope we are able to change."

"We're a bit late with that," laughed Verstappen, when the same question was put to him. "The amount of money that has been invested into these regulations, it will be around for a while. You could have seen this coming. That suddenly now things are raised, it's a bit late."

Asked how he feels about his own chances going into the weekend, he replied: "I have no idea.

"I'm very happy with what we did pre-season," he added. "It's been a really great and proud moment how the whole project came together, through the engine and the car. I was very positively surprised at how everything felt.

"Also, you know, the rule changes have been really complex for everyone, but in terms of the feeling in the car, driving experience, between the engine and the car, it was good.

"Of course I've had my say on other things I didn't like, but what happened here within the team has been really, really good.

"So we are very happy with that, and now of course, looking on the performance side of things, I think yeah, we want to be a little bit faster and actually I think everyone always wants to be faster but from the things that I think we learned in in Bahrain at least we're not the quickest. But I have no idea. We'll just see where we are here to start with."