Fernando Alonso hopes his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll will end up enjoying the F1 2026 season.

Stroll has made his concerns known about the huge regulatory revamp coming for next season, but Alonso wants more experience with the new ruleset first before he casts a firm judgement.

Fernando Alonso hopes ‘Lance Stroll can enjoy’ F1 2026

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

The current set of Formula 1 regulations are into their final year, as major change is on the way.

For F1 2026, the cars will become smaller and 30KG lighter. The drag reduction system [DRS] meanwhile will be scrapped, as Formula 1 embraces active aerodynamics. The Pirelli tyres will get 25 millimeters narrower at the front and 30mm at the rear.

The revamp also extends to the engines. From F1 2026, the cars will be fitted with engines which utilise a 50/50 split between electrical and internal combustion power. Fully sustainable biofuel will be used in the internal combustion engine.

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll is not particularly excited by the new rules based on his experiences in the simulator.

Asked by the media, including PlanetF1.com at the Belgian Grand Prix, whether he had done any testing of the 2026 car in the sim yet, Stroll replied: “I did a bit, yeah. It’s definitely less downforce. Fast in a straight line.”

Asked if it would be challenging for the drivers, Stroll added: “Different kind of challenge, right? Physically a lot less demanding, because just less G force.

“But of course, a challenge for the teams, like every new set of regulations, with the increased battery power, the set of engine regulations, and then the different aerodynamic regulations. That’s going to be a challenge for the teams, who’s going to get it right, who’s going to get it wrong.

“But for us drivers, for sure, I think these kinds of tracks, Spa, Suzuka, you know, high speed, less downforce, it’s not going to be as exciting as what it is now. That’s just a fact until maybe a couple of years into the regs or whatever, I don’t know.

“But, it’s going to be a hit in downforce, and we’re going to be sliding around more than what we are now.”

Quizzed on whether this means we can expect 20 unhappy drivers at the F1 2026 season-opener in Melbourne, Stroll quipped: “Not whoever has the fastest car winning the race. I’m sure that driver will be very happy with the regulation change!”

He added: “We all feel, I think, that it’s not very exciting, and it’s not the direction we want to go as racing drivers. But it’s a relative game.”

Alonso was quizzed on his team-mate’s comments at the following round in Hungary.

The two-time World Champion opted to reserve firm judgement for when he has greater experience with the incoming regulations, but hopes the end result will leave Stroll with a higher opinion.

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“I only did one day in the simulator, and it was difficult to really take any conclusions of that,” said Alonso.

“So, I will wait a little bit longer, or maybe even to test a real car, because sometimes in the simulator, you have a feeling, and then on the real car you have a different one.

“Yeah, it’s less performance than this year. Every time a racing driver tests something that is slower, [they] will never like [it]. But then we go in a rental car, with 12 horsepower, and we love it [laughs]. When we are all together, you know, and you fight and you win the race and it’s like you win the championship.

“So yeah, if next year you are fast, we will love the cars.

“And hopefully Lance can enjoy next year. That will be good news.”

Aston Martin are certainly a team to watch in F1 2026 as their Honda alliance begins. F1 design guru Adrian Newey meanwhile is hard at work designing the Aston Martin F1 2026 chassis.

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