Has F1 become anti-innovation?

To many, Formula 1 is about engineering genius, so why does the governing body, the FIA, so often outlaw bold new ideas after they appear? Has grand prix racing become anti-innovation, or is it essential for 'the show' to control technical development?

On this episode of The Race F1 Podcast, which was inspired by a question sent in by someone in The Race Members' Club on Patreon, Edd Straw is joined by Samarth Kanal and Mark Hughes to debate whether F1 has got the innovation balance right or wrong, and to hypothesise on what would happen if the FIA relaxed the rules and allowed the teams to innovate as they wish, provided they stuck to the cost cap...

Here's the full listener question from StevieNoises that inspired the episode:

Why is F1’s strategy so anti-development? Ferrari’s exhaust wing is banned for 2027 and, to quote from The-Race.com ‘although the FIA was satisfied that the designs fully compiled with the regulations, it was mindful that if things were left untouched there was a risk of things getting more extreme and a potential tech war exploding.’

'Tech war' is negatively loaded language that perfectly describes the sport! Car performance is based on the design of the car rather than the talent of the driver (for the most part), so a tech war is what Formula 1 is. Why is the strategy to counter development? Teams cannot just spend their way out of problems now. All of the teams saw the Ferrari rear wing in testing and took time to evaluate if it is worth bringing. 10 years ago, all of the top teams would have had one on the car for round 1. With the cost cap in place, there arguably should be more freedom in chasing designs.

I understand that occasionally developments are banned because it can lead to one team being extremely dominant which you could make the argument with McLaren's system. But it's not like Ferrari have won a lot of races this year BECAUSE of the exhaust wing. This is not a development like DAS, or the double diffuser for example. 

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