New F1 regulations take bravery out of the sport, drivers say
Formula One F1 - Chinese Grand Prix - Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China - March 12, 2026 Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso with an engineer in the garage ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
SHANGHAI, March 12 : The new Formula One engine and chassis regulations for the 2026 season have taken some of the bravery out of the sport, several drivers said ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, as teams grapple with the biggest rules overhaul in decades.
Last weekend's season-opening race in Australia drew a mixed response from fans and drivers. Some praised an increase in overtakes due to new 'Overtake' and 'Boost' modes, while others compared the on-track action to racing video game Mario Kart.
With more power generated by electricity this season than from last year's engines, there is greater emphasis on being tactical with energy deployment and regeneration.
That has led drivers to sometimes be best served by lifting off the throttle on high-speed straights and coasting into corners, rather than slamming on the brakes, to ensure they have sufficient battery to deploy elsewhere.
"We used to fight for our life," twice world champion Fernando Alonso told a news conference on Thursday, including the Shanghai circuit's fast and sweeping Turn 8 in a list of nail-biting corners from various tracks around the world.
"We were challenging the limits of the physics going through those corners, and the driver had to use all the skills and be brave in some moments as well," he added.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc told reporters he had enjoyed racing Mercedes' George Russell towards the beginning of last weekend's race, which the Briton won, but agreed the regulations had changed what gave drivers an edge over the field.
"It's a bit more strategic than it used to be in the past, where it was more who was braking later kind of battles," the eight-times race winner from Monaco said.
"In the past, you could take quite a lot of risk and make an overtake work. Now, it's always: 'If I have this action now, what will happen in the next straight, in two straights time?'"
McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Williams driver Carlos Sainz sounded less impressed.
"It's a very different kind of challenge. It's not quite as simple as just who's the bravest and who's willing to carry the most speed," Piastri said, when asked if he agreed with Alonso's assessment.
"I got braver and braver in qualifying, and it made me slower and slower down the straights," the Australian added, referring to his fifth-place lap that set the grid for his home race.
Sainz said the 2026 regulations needed a bit of a rethink to make the experience better for the drivers.
"I don't like seeing the top speed decreasing in the middle of a straight ... I don't like having to lift and coast in the middle of a qualifying lap and I don't like, let's say, the racing that we saw in Melbourne ... it's not a real overtake of Formula One," the Spaniard told reporters.
