Lance Stroll has criticised the 2026 Formula 1 regulations as “sad” as he expressed how he feels many drivers stay silent about their true feelings due to political pressures.
The Canadian driver isn’t the first to voice concerns over the upcoming rules reset, with Charles Leclerc expressing his views at the Red Bull Ring.
Speaking in Austria, the Ferrari driver proclaimed he was “not a fan” of how the car may feel and how he thinks it will be “less enjoyable for drivers to drive”.
Williams Team Principal James Vowles, however, offered a more optimistic view, highlighting the significant potential of the 2026 regulations and the opportunities they present for teams.
Concerns about next year’s cars stem from the greater reliance on battery power, with reduced downforce and drag cuts implemented to prevent drivers from running out of energy.
As a result, some drivers have come away disappointed after getting their first taste of the early development cars on the simulator.
One of those drivers is Stroll, who expressed his frustration with the new regulations and their impact on racing ahead of the British Grand Prix.
“I don’t know if the regs are so exciting,” he told media including Motorsport Week. I think, yeah, I don’t know…a bit sad if you ask me.”
Asked about his first experience with the 2026 car on the simulator, Stroll added: “I think it’s a bit of a shame F1 is just taking that path of electric energy and we’ve had to shut all the downforce off the cars to support the battery power.
“It would just be fun to see some light, nimble, fast cars with a lot of downforce and just simplify the whole thing a little bit.
“Less so of an energy, battery, championship science project and more of just a Formula 1 racing championship.”
Stroll hits out at F1’s direction for 2026 and hints at driver silence
Stroll explained how much of next year’s driving will focus on energy management, questioning if that’s really racing.
He also suggested that many drivers agree with his view but can’t speak out due to political reasons.
“I don’t know if that’s racing, it’s going to be the same for everyone next year – it’s all going to be about who can do that best,” he said.
“I’m sure whoever is doing that best is going to love the new regs – that’s what it’s all about.
“I’m not a fan of the direction, I mean, if you have a fast car and we’re competitive and we’re doing better than everyone else, that’s when you’ve got nothing to complain about.
“I don’t love the idea of the regs, though. A lot of the drivers can agree on that. Maybe some of them can’t talk about it for political reasons.
“I think it’s exciting to think about cars that can scream a little bit louder, be a bit lighter and just not depend on, not focus so much on that energy like battery, powertrain that’s not very racey.”
Leclerc calls 2026 regs direction ‘less attractive’ for drivers
Following up on his earlier criticism, Leclerc was asked how challenging it is to switch between driving the 2026 car on the simulator and racing the current car.
“It’s so different that for sure I don’t confuse which car I’m driving,” the Monegasque explained.
“To put back into context my comments I did, it wasn’t really specific to our team, which I’ve seen in headlines saying we’re struggling or whatever.
“I was just meaning that the new direction for us drivers is a little bit less attractive and a little bit less nice to drive.
“It’s the way it is, I still find the motivation and the challenge of making these new regs as fast as possible.
“If we’re competitive I’m sure I’ll start to like it a lot more, but if not, I’ll probably hate it a lot, but I hope it won’t be the case.”
READ MORE – Lance Stroll: Aston Martin 2025 F1 car ‘worst piece of s**t I’ve driven’ in British GP
Stroll is right. Outside of the lottery aspect and seeing who lucks out and ends up on top (which could literally be anyone), these new regulations will be a dud in terms of racing. They are still way too large and heavy, with outdated power technology. If anything, they should be experimenting with hydrogen. But considering synthetic fuels exist, just make tiny (but safe) cars with big and loud (or sometimes silent can be fun e.g., diesel Audi LMP1s back in the day) V12 or V10s in them. Or just open up the rulebooks and ditch the hokey cost cap (which doesn’t actually work anyway) and let teams go crazy and do whatever they want. Moveable aero could be fun, just not in a fake DRS sort or way. I want to see F1 be the pinnacle of motorsport again, which hasn’t really happened in almost 20 years since they started running gigantic, hideous dinosaurs with mid-2000s LMP1 power unit technology. What a joke the sport has become. These current cars are literally bigger than a Ford F-150, and people wonder why they can’t race at certain tracks. Next year won’t improve this much, and that’s a shame.