Fans say Lewis Hamilton radio during Oscar Piastri battle sums up the problem with 2026 F1 rules

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F1 fans think Ferrari’s instruction to Lewis Hamilton when he was chasing Oscar Piastri at the Japanese Grand Prix highlight the problem with the 2026 regulations.

Hamilton climbed to third place after the safety car restart when he overtook George Russell’s Mercedes. That put the McLaren of Piastri, relegated to second after stopping early, in his sights.

Hamilton asked Ferrari engineer Carlo Santi what he could do to catch Piastri, who was ‘pulling away on the straights’. Santi replied that he should use ‘15% less throttle into turn six for more power’.

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Fans are ‘saying goodbye’ to F1 and ‘joke’ Lewis Hamilton radio shows why

For many F1 fans, the new energy management protocols are antithetical to the principles of racing. Hamilton was effectively told to drive slower in order to be faster overall.

After reading the transcript, one fan wrote ‘this isn’t sport anymore’. Another summarised that ‘this is exactly what’s wrong with these regs’.

The FIA were told situations like this are the ‘root cause’ of fans ‘saying goodbye’ to the F1. Fellow X users described it as a ‘joke’ and ‘anti-racing’.

Max Verstappen has openly questioned his F1 future – What are Red Bull’s chances of him driving for them in 2027 out of 10?

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“Ayrton Senna would immediately have pulled his car over to the side and got out,” said one viewer. “This isn’t F1.”

A final fan even went as far as to write: “Less throttle for more power. This is absolutely ridiculous. This is the season F1 dies for good.”

The Japanese Grand Prix showed the worst of F1’s new regulations

The Japanese Grand Prix perhaps wasn’t quite as entertaining as the previous races in Australia and China.

Up to this point, the obvious flaws in qualifying, where drivers haven’t been able to push flat-out owing to the need to save battery, have been overshadowed by spectacular battling.

The Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari drivers battled in the top six on Sunday and there was also some intense racing in the midfield. But there were repeated instances of a driver making an overtake into the final chicane and then being easily re-passed on the main straight; that ‘yo-yo’ racing has put many fans off.

But the new regulations had their worst moment yet on lap 21 when Oliver Bearman crashed heavily, having been caught out by an extreme speed differential with Franco Colapinto in front. Drivers are increasingly calling for changes on the grounds of safety, if nothing else.