Fernando Alonso admits one aspect of F1’s new regulations is already ‘annoying’ him

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Aston Martin star Fernando Alonso has been through more regulation changes than any other Formula 1 driver.

Fernando Alonso made his debut in 2001, which is so long ago that of the 11 teams on the grid this year, only three existed in their current forms back then.

Aston Martin was still known as Jordan, and Alonso’s Minardi team are now Racing Bulls.

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The 2026 regulations are the biggest changes that Alonso or his current team principal, Adrian Newey, has ever dealt with.

Aston Martin have come up with some extreme designs to try and maximise their potential this season, although there are concerns about Honda’s power unit already after the Barcelona shakedown.

The changing regulations are going to impact how drivers race each other this year, and Alonso has already suggested that one aspect of the new rules has annoyed him heading into pre-season testing.

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Fernando Alonso says 2026 energy management will be ‘a bit annoying’ this season

Alonso was asked in an interview with MARCA about the possibility of having to recharge the battery during qualifying runs, when drivers should theoretically be pushing harder than at any other point in the weekend.

He admitted. “I think each set of regulations has its own particularities, and different driving techniques are required for each car.

“I think this one is a bit more drastic in that sense, because part of the energy management and driving that you have to do is to optimise it throughout the entire lap, and even sometimes in qualifying, which will be a bit annoying from the driver’s point of view.

“I think we need to think a bit more now. I’ve driven in IndyCar, and the main objective was to save fuel for 75% of the race. I drove in the WEC, and the main objective was simply to manage energy, in addition to the hybrid system and traffic.

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“At the end of the day, it’s just racing. You start with the green light on the first lap and finish with the checkered flag on the last.

“That’s part of the race, and you get used to it very, very quickly. The initial feeling is that you’d like to drive at full speed and have a different car, but F1 has taken this direction, and these hybrid power units require this energy management. I think we’ll get used to it.”

Alonso also suggested that F1 will likely ‘never go back’ to the 1990s or 2000s, which he believes was the ‘peak’ of the sport’s DNA, but is yet to reach a conclusion on whether that’s a good or a bad thing.

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Fernando Alonso worried about over-regulation heading into the 2026 F1 season

Concerns have already been raised about the prospect of cars being halfway down a straight and then no longer being able to accelerate due to the way the new engines are configured.

The overtake mode and boost button should encourage more exciting racing, but Alonso has voiced his concerns and suggested: “I think it’s a bit more complex. It requires a bit of thought before getting in the car or preparing for an overtake, but at the same time, the teams are very well prepared now.

“Everything is simulated in advance, and we already have that information from Thursday, so for Sunday, I don’t think there will be many surprises or many mistakes that the driver can make.

“Actually, there isn’t much freedom, let’s say, in terms of what you can do in the cockpit or how much energy you can use. It’s also very restricted by the FIA.

“So, when you reduce power, you have to do it at a certain rate. When you want to use energy, there isn’t much more you can have compared to the cars in front, because we all have to deploy maximum energy for one second on the corner exit.

“So there are a couple of things that are probably over-regulated, like in terms of freedom or how to use that energy intelligently… The differences will be minimal because, unfortunately, there’s not much you can do.”

Aston Martin arrived late in Barcelona, and the noises coming out of the team suggest that the second half of the season will be far more positive than the opening races.

Alonso has addressed whether he’ll want to continue racing into 2027 and beyond, and while that might come down to how competitive Aston Martin are, it might also be impacted by how much he enjoys competing under these new rules.