Fernando Alonso believes the requirement for extensive energy management in F1 2026 could take \u201csome of the joy\u201d away from driving.<\/p>\n
The new regulation set for the F1 2026 cars sees the management of harvesting and deployment of electrical energy become paramount for the drivers, which isn\u2019t being seen as a net positive by all.<\/p>\n
Fernando Alonso: F1 moving in a \u2018different direction\u2019 to its peak DNA<\/p>\n
With the power unit regulations moving to increase electrification to near 50\/50 split with the internal combustion engine, what has emerged as the cars have hit the track for the first time is that some of the feared driving dynamics have become reality.<\/p>\n
Lifting and coasting is set to become prevalent, even on a full-bore qualifying lap, for instance, while downshifting down long straights is occurring \u2013 a scenario that was alerted to as a possibility long before the cars turned from drawings into physical creations, although Mercedes\u2019 George Russell has said he hasn\u2019t found the situation unnatural, as he compared the scenario to being like driving uphill and needing to downshift to optimise power delivery.<\/p>\n
Haas\u2019 Oliver Bearman was less kind, saying he has found the reality \u201ca bit sad\u201d, while his team boss Ayao Komatsu has spoken about how drivers can be punished for a failure to correctly conserve energy deployment for the most optimal moments for overall laptime.<\/p>\n
The most experienced driver on the grid, Fernando Alonso, has been around for multiple power unit regulations, starting in the 3.0 litre V10 era, moving into the 2.4 litre V8s in 2006, and then through the 1.6-litre V6 hybrids up until the latest-generation \u2013 marking his fourth engine regulation cycle.<\/p>\n
Having experienced the new regulations for the first time during a day behind the wheel of the new Aston Martin AMR26 in Barcelona, Alonso explained that there some elements to them that he\u2019s enjoying, but said he can\u2019t say that it\u2019s more enjoyable than cars he\u2019s driven in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think all the regulations have their own special things and different driving techniques are needed for different cars and different sets of regulations,\u201d he told select media, including PlanetF1.com, during Aston Martin<\/a>\u2018s launch event in Saudi Arabia on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this one is a little bit more dramatic on that regard. Some of the energy management and some of the driving that you have to do in order to optimise the energy around the lap and sometimes even in qualifying, which is a little bit annoying \u2013 from a driver point of view, you want to drive 100 per cent.<\/p>\n \u201cI think now you need to think a little bit more than that, but I don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve been driving in IndyCar, and the main game there is to save fuel for 75 per cent of the race.<\/p>\n \u201cI drove in WEC, and the main purpose there was just the energy control as well, with the hybrid system and the traffic, and, at the end of the day, it is just racing.<\/p>\n \u201cYou start with the green light on the first lap, and you finish with the chequered flag on the last lap. That\u2019s part of the racing, and you get used to it very, very fast.<\/p>\n \u201cThe initial feeling is that you will like to drive flat out, and have a different car. But F1 went into this direction, and these hybrid power units that requires this energy management\u2026 I think we will get used to, but, yeah, I think we will never go back to the late 1990s or early 2000s where the cars were light and fast, with the noise of the engine.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything was probably at the peak of the Formula 1 DNA. Now we are moving more into a different Formula 1.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s better or worse, but it\u2019s different for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n With the two-time F1 World Champion well known for being a celebral and intelligent racing driver who has always exploited every possible avenue to further his success, more complex regulations could reward a driver such as Alonso. But, when asked by PlanetF1.com whether he believes the regulations will play to his strengths, Alonso said he\u2019d prefer to have more simplistic demands placed upon him.<\/p>\n \u201cBarcelona was fun, I think, to have a little bit more different energy deployments and things like that, lap by lap, and you know, corner by corner, depending on which gear you use in the corners or how you go on the acceleration,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt changes how much energy you will have on the next straight, because on partial throttle, you recharge.<\/p>\n \u201cThen, if you go to full throttle too soon, then you cut too soon as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a couple of things that are interesting, and we will play a little bit. But I prefer to drive with not too many systems interacting with your driving style or with your approach to the corners, and it seems that you need to overthink a little bit while driving, and that\u2019s always a risk of having less joy behind the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Aston Martin in 2026<\/p>\n Alonso \u2018finally\u2019 on Adrian Newey\u2019s team at \u2018important\u2019 Aston Martin landmark<\/a><\/p>\n