Fernando Alonso has said that the driver’s role in F1 is “dying” due to the new regulation changes brought in for the 2026 season.
Speaking after Friday’s (13 February) test in Bahrain, the Aston Martin driver said that the emphasis on saving energy means drivers can’t perform to their full capabilities during races.
While F1 cars are still powered by a 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid, the power balance between the engine and electric motor has shifted considerably. Power from the motor has tripled, meaning there’s now roughly a 50:50 split between the sources. Drivers must recharge the battery that powers the electric motor through regenerative braking or lifting off the throttle at the end of straights. Using full power will harm the hybrid system more than before these changes came into force.
Alonso: Formula 1’s 2000s V10s were the best to drive
When asked how the 2026 F1 cars drive compared with the many he’s driven in the past, Alonso described them as “different” due to the considerations drivers must now take into account for the hybrid powertrains.
“All this energy management surely takes away some of the challenge for the driver,” he said to Sky Italy.
“I also said it before at the car launch; the late ’90s and early 2000s… I think those were the best cars to drive – light cars with the sound of Formula 1 where you found the lap time by risking a bit more, taking a fast corner flat, lifting a little and really feeling the car, taking risks as a driver.”
Alonso stated that F1 races are less about risk-taking as they are strategy, with drivers forced to hold back from driving as fast as possible.
“Now there’s no real risk to take. Now you need to have energy because we put all the energy on the straights, and in the corners we don’t want to use it in the wrong way and waste it.
“So in the end this means we take the corners quite slowly and save all the possible energy for the straights.”
He continued: “But by going slowly through the corners, the driver’s main role – which is risking everything in the corners – is kind of dying.”
New hybrid set-up controversial among F1 drivers
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen expressed similar views to Alonso, stating that the F1 cars feel like “Formula E on steroids”.
“As a pure driver, I enjoy driving flat out. At the moment, you cannot drive like that,” he said.
Reigning world champion Lando Norris, however, disagreed with Verstappen’s comments, saying the Dutchman “can retire” if he doesn’t like the new engine set-ups.
“We get paid a stupid amount of money to drive,” he said. “So you can’t really complain at the end of the day. Any driver can go and find something else to do. It’s not like he has to be here, or any driver has to be here.
“It’s still early days of a regulation that’s meant to be a good amount slower. But if we fast forward to the end of this year and ahead to next year, we’re going to be going a lot quicker by then.“
