Lewis Hamilton has declared that the lift and coast instruction F1 drivers face in 2026 is “not weird” but “different” from previous years.

In addition to super-clipping, lift and coast, or LiCo, is one of the best ways for drivers to harvest energy into corners, with it playing a greater role than in previous seasons owing to the change in power output ratio in 2026.

Previously, engines were split roughly 80-20 in terms of the internal combustion engine versus the batteries, although this is now 50-50 in 2026.

The lift and coast technique, in addition to super-clipping have drawn widespread criticism, but seven-time champion Hamilton insists there is nothing “weird” about receiving the instruction from the pit-wall – only that the idea behind it has changed.

“I don’t find anything weird, it is just different,” Hamilton told media, including RacingNews365. 

“I think lift and coast has been something we’ve done in the past, but most of the time, it was to save fuel or tyres.

“Now it is to optimise your energy through the lap, so from track to track, it is going to be different.

“So it is not necessarily weird, it is just on a qualifying lap, you want to be powered all the way to the breaking zone [of a corner], but that’s not the case, today.”