In his office at the Aston Martin factory, Adrian Newey is likely working day and night on the race car that Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll hope to compete with for the Grand Prix victories in '26. The latter has already completed his first virtual laps in the simulator and is not entirely enthusiastic.
Less downforce, higher top speed, but also the management of the battery. For the Formula 1 drivers, adapting to the race cars of 2026, when the new technical regulations take effect, will be a challenge. During his first experiences, Stroll already noticed the differences.
"Probably physically less demanding, because there's just less G-force," he says first about the changes, in response to a question from GPblog.
"But then, of course, [it is] like a challenge for the teams, like every new regulations with the increased battery power, the different set of engine regulations and then the different aerodynamic regulations, that's going to be a challenge for the team."
"But for us drivers for sure, I think these kind of tracks like Spa, Suzuka; 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 and downforce and we're going to be sliding around more than what we are now," Stroll concludes.
Stroll agrees with Verstappen and Leclerc
The Canadian is certainly not the first driver who 'complains' about the new rules. Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc had previously expressed their concerns about the new cars.
After this site put this observation to him, he says: "I'd be more excited if the regulation change was like, V8, 650, 700 kilo cars, smaller and we're pushing every lap instead of managing battery power and lifting and coasting for tyres and sliding and all these things."
"I think as drivers we want to push every lap, we want to feel that the car has good grip and it's exciting to drive, it's physically demanding in the races.
"So yeah, I'd probably be more excited if the regs were going that direction, but I'm sure whoever is going to have the fastest car on the new set of regulations is going to be a very happy guy."
Stroll sees the same opinion 'everywhere'
The ‘26 cars will hit the track for the first time in less than six months, until then many adjustments and fine-tuning will be made. Whether drivers will ultimately have to adjust their driving style, remains to be seen.
"Time will tell," says Stroll." It's so early days with the simulator and stuff, but it might be like one of those things, you know, who's lifting and coasting the most efficiently and qualifying or whatever to get the most lap time out of it. As racing drivers, as racing fans, enthusiasts, do we want to see the sport go in that direction? I don't know, I think we all share a similar opinion on that."
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