Focusing on speed or handling in F1 has trade offs

We’re constantly told that Formula One is the pinnacle of all motorsport, yet every year there are new rules and regulations to make the cars slower.

While it’s clear that slowing down these road-bound rockets makes things safer for the drivers, is there a case for simply letting the teams come up with the purest, quickest cars they can, free from any rules?

If a car was built for sheer speed, it would have much smaller wings than the current crops of F1 cars. This would greatly reduce aerodynamic drag, which in turn is what generates the downforce that allows this breed of car to corner so quickly.