“Oh I can’t stand the new cars, I miss the sound of the engines from the ‘80s,” I hear an old man with a thick London accent whine to his seatmate on the crowded bus back from the qualifying at Silverstone. He’s not the only one who shares this opinion; the new regulations for Formula One’s 2026 season have been controversial to say the least. Many changes have been made to the “formula” of how a racing car is built and run on the track: new ‘overtake’ and ‘straight’ modes, lighter cars, changes to rear wings, and — most importantly — new 50/50 hybrid power units.

The new cars have not only been criticized by chronically online fans, but also by four-time world champion Max Verstappen who has threatened to leave the sport entirely if the power unit regulations aren’t reversed in the coming years. However, while Verstappen may not enjoy driving under the new regulations and while some fans believe the new cars don’t create ‘real’ racing, I have found they bring interesting new challenges and changes to the season that enhance the sport. 

Firstly, the entire sport of F1 is built upon technical innovation. Cars from the 1980s are — to the chagrin of some of the old-time fans — nearly unrecognizable from those that grace the track in the 2020s. It makes sense then that there would be an eventual move to a hybrid battery-operated power unit; electric units are becoming increasingly common in motorsport and bring a bit of sustainability to a sport with an incredibly hefty carbon footprint. 

On top of bringing the sport up-to-date with advancements and trends in technology, I believe the power units have been unfairly maligned for making the first half of the 2026 season ‘slow’ or 

‘uninteresting.’ Along with the new regulations, the 2026 F1 season had to cancel two of the early-season races — Qatar and Saudi Arabia — due to the war in Iran. Cancelling these races created a lull in the sport early in 2026, which had nothing to do with the new cars or their impact on racing. 

In fact, in my view, this season has been filled with tense overtakes, devastating DNFs, and mechanical setbacks which even affected the championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, who DNF’ed at the British Grand Prix. As someone who was at Silverstone, I can attest that fans were on the edge of their seats due to the chaotic and nail-biting events of the weekend’s race. These races certainly aren’t boring, and while drivers and teams now have to factor battery life into their strategies, there are still a lot of the classic racing maneuvers that bring fans back to the sport year after year. 

Despite the fact that certain drivers have been outspoken about their dislike for the new regulations, that is not a reason to completely disregard the positive impacts these regulations could have on the sport. Many drivers also dislike sprint races, but that doesn’t mean sprints aren’t incredibly popular with fans, or that they haven’t added to the sport’s increased popularity. Like changes and advancements to technology in the past, some drivers will adapt to the new rules and some will not; the sport will move on regardless. 

Another complaint lodged at the new regulations is that managing battery power takes away from driver talent. Once again, this is not true, as 2026 has seen some stellar performances from Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and other drivers across the grid. 

Even if the regulations compelled drivers to change their strategies, that would not be a bad thing. To reach brilliance in F1, there must be collaborative work between a driver, their constructors, and their race engineers. The new regulations have forced teams to develop new strategies —which some have executed more successfully than others — that will likely take time to perfect. Drivers succeeding by working with and within the new strategies is a principal part of the sport. If you want to see drivers race in equal or standardized machinery, other forms of motorsport would be more fitting for you. 

When I watched the cars come around the final turn into the Hamilton Straight at Silverstone, the sound of the cars and the rumble of vibrations hitting the stands was exhilarating. While the sound may have been quieter than some of the previous years, it was almost impossible to notice these changes as twenty-two cars sped at lightning speed in front of my eyes. Despite the new regulations, what I saw at Silverstone was exemplary of high-speed racing, which drew me, and so many other fans, to F1. 

So, while there may be new challenges for drivers and teams, I think it’s unfair to say the 2026 cars do not allow for ‘real racing’; the energy and tension are still present as teams work through their current constraints. Perhaps in the coming years — if the new regulations are not overturned due to premature contempt — as the hybrid power units develop, fans will wonder why we ever questioned innovation in the first place.