Formula One has probably reached its highest level of popularity in the past few years. The success of the Netflix show ‘Drive to Survive’ as well as an increase in female fans has been a huge part of this. However, the 2026 season brought in a set of new regulations which has drastically changed how the cars operate and how they are driven. This has been a huge topic of discussion within the motorsport’s community from fans as well as drivers. With many people being left frustrated and unhappy.
What Has Changed?
The cars are now shorter than the 2025 regulations and the minimum weight for them has been reduced to 768kg compared to last years 800kg. Active Aero has also been introduced, which allows drivers to play around with the front and rear wing elements in different areas on track. This means that in the straights drivers can open the flaps and reduce drag.
Overtake mode has now replaced DRS. Overtake mode essentially gives drivers extra electrical energy when they are within one second of the driver in front to help with overtaking.
Drivers also have a Boost button which can also be used for overtaking or for defence against other drivers. The Boost button optimises the battery and engine power.
One of the biggest changes to the cars is the new power units. These are now an even split between electric and petrol. This has caused battery management to be crucial in the races.
All of these different factors sound good in theory but in reality, it has just paved the way for poor strategies, insane battery management and only one team having the capability of winning races.
How Has This Ruined the Sport?
One of the most exciting factors of the past two seasons has been the unpredictability of the race winners. We’ve had drivers from multiple teams fighting for podiums. Like when Niko Hulkenberg got his first podium at the British Grand Prix last season.
We had a three-way fight for the Driver’s Championship, and a new World Champion was crowned. Whereas this season it has been clear that Mercedes is going to dominate based on the races so far. No team has even been close to challenging them based on race pace alone.
Drivers can no longer push the cars to limit and are unable to drive them on the limit which has caused a lot of complaints from them.
How the Driver’s Feel
Max Verstappen has probably been the most vocal about his hatred for the new 2026 regulations. Before the first race had even begun, he was criticizing the regulations and has even threatened to leave the sport altogether.
Lewis Hamilton on the other hand, seems to be enjoying this new way of racing. Which makes sense considering he has achieved his first podium with Ferrari this season. But he has admitted it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and that fans may struggle to follow the new regulations.
Other drivers that have shown distaste for the regulations include new World Champion Lando Norris and also Carlos Sainz who has complained about safety issues.
Safety Issues
During the previous race in Japan, Ollie Bearman suffered from a 50G crash after he was caught off guard by his speed. This caused him to crash into the wall, to avoid the car of Franco Colapinto and he got out of his car limping but was later declared fine by the medical centre.
However, this has caused safety concerns to be brought up by drivers and fans regarding the situation. As the electrical power differences in each driver’s car was the factor that ultimately caused the crash.
The FIA have received a lot of backlash for this and are meant to be working towards solutions to prevent these issues. But it looks like this season will not be a fan favourite for many people and unless changes happen, more complaints will continue to be made.
Featured image credits: Liauzh via Wikimedia
