Lance Stroll has added to Charles Leclerc’s criticism of Formula 1’s 2026 regulations, calling the direction “a bit sad”, one that’s more science project than racing.
In Austria, Leclerc described his first time driving Ferrari’s 2026 car on the simulator as “not enjoyable” and said he’s “not a fan” of the new way of driving that the cars require.
The new cars will rely more on battery power and downforce and drag cuts have been made to try to counter the potential for drivers running out of battery energy.
That’s led to a bleak first impression from some drivers who have started trying an early development model of the cars out on the simulator.
You might have suspected Stroll would have plenty of reason to be optimistic about next year’s cars given Aston Martin’s strong 2026 prospects: a factory Honda engine, Adrian Newey’s input since March this year and signs in 2025 that its technical team are making sustained in-season development progress.
But while Stroll still rates the team’s chances for 2026, he isn’t enthused by the driving experience.
“I don’t know if the regs are so exciting,” Stroll said at Silverstone.
“But it’s a relative game and if you have a fast car then they are exciting. See what next year brings.
“I don’t know what everyone else’s car looks like. It’s going to be about when everyone shows up in Australia for the first race.
“So we’ll see when that day comes around. But the regulations, I think, yeah, I don’t know…a bit sad if you ask me.”
When asked about his first time driving the 2026 car on the simulator, Stroll said: “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.”
He agreed that a lot of the driving is dominated by energy harvesting and deployment.
“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,” Stroll added.
“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.”
As for 2025, Aston Martin is debuting its final upgrade of the season at Silverstone as it looks for a leg up in a tightly congested midfield battle.
‘Less nice to drive’
Following on from his criticism at the Austrian GP, Leclerc was asked how difficult it is to balance driving the 2026 car on the simulator while also racing the 2025 car.
“It’s so different that for sure I don’t confuse which car I’m driving,” Leclerc said.
“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.”
