Formula 1 pre-season testing: Stefano Domenicali calls for calm in the face of criticism of the new rules

Formula One chiefs agreed at a meeting of the F1 Commission’s rule-making body on Wednesday to evaluate the data from this final test at a further meeting to determine whether action is needed in the short term.

The concern arises from the fact that the new motor bases tripled the power provided by the electric portion of the motor, but left the batteries about the same size as last year, and removed one of the devices used to recover power.

This has left the cars lacking in power and forced teams to find new ways to gather enough electrical energy to achieve the best performance. The rules governing energy recovery are also very complex.

This in turn requires drivers to perform behaviors that have been described as “counterintuitive” to improve lap time.

This includes not starting flat out of the final corner before the qualifying lap, going up and down in the qualifying lap, and even not accelerating at full power at the end of the lap because the energy would have been better used elsewhere.

However, drivers were generally positive about the new cars’ handling characteristics, and a number of senior drivers told BBC Sport that they were still driving to the limit of control, and driver ability would remain as crucial as ever.

“Don’t worry about power management. We’ll solve this problem. By the way, if we need to solve it,” Domenicali said.

He spent his time in Bahrain holding a series of discussions with individual drivers about the sport, including Verstappen.

He added: “Max wants and cares about Formula 1 more than anyone else. He has a way of making the point he wants to make in a certain way.

“Max will be part of the future of Formula 1 and of course it is very important that we listen to him and all the great drivers who are so important in the sport.”

Domenicali also said F1 is looking to introduce new sporting elements on Fridays, expanding on the approach that has led to sprint weekends, which include two qualifying sessions instead of one, a shorter race on Saturday plus a grand prix on Sunday.

He has previously said that Formula 1 is considering increasing the number of sprint events beyond the current six.

Domenicali added: “The feedback from the fans, from the people who attended the track, from the promoter, [is] That people want to see the work, the real work during the three days.

“People want to see something sports on Friday — playoffs, points, whatever.

“So, it’s true that there is a trend to go in that direction, even if it’s not a sprint every weekend.”