The new Formula 1 regulations introduced for the 2026 season might have helped the cars become 30kg lighter (768kg), 200mm shorter, and 100mm narrower, making them more agile in corners and better suited for tight street circuits, but they come with a danger that F1 “will lose fans,” as suggested by Bernie Ecclestone.
The rule change has replaced F1’s traditional Drag Reduction System (DRS) with a high-power Manual Override electrical boost to facilitate overtaking. This will provide a huge electrical power boost of 350kW, allowing speeds of up to 337km/h for a chasing driver within one second of the car ahead.
The technical focus also shifts to 100% sustainable fuels and a 50/50 power split between the internal combustion engine and electrical power. This move has already faced several criticism.
Furthermore, both the front and rear wings now feature movable elements. With the introduction of Active Aerodynamics (switching between X-Mode and Z-Mode), the system allows drivers to adjust drag and downforce levels in real time, ensuring cars can follow closely in corners and reach high speeds on straights without the aerodynamic turbulence that plagues current designs.
Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Now Bernie Ecclestone Slams F1 2026 New Rules
The F1 fraternity has had mixed opinions on these rule changes. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen called them “anti-racing” rules and described the new F1 cars as “Formula E on steroids.”
“The proportion of the car looks good, that’s not the problem. It’s just everything else that is a bit anti-racing,” he said after a below-par pre-season test in Bahrain.
“Probably people will not be happy with me saying this. But I am outspoken, and why am I not allowed to say what I think of my race car?”
Not only Verstappen, his arch-rival Lewis Hamilton also somewhat criticised the major changes.
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“None of the fans are going to understand it, I don’t think. It’s so complex. It’s ridiculously complex,” he said.
“I sat in a meeting the other day and they’re taking us through it, and it’s like you need a degree to fully understand it all,” said the seven-time world champion.
Now, several more F1 pundits, including former F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who served from 1987, controlling the commercial rights to Formula One until 2017, are voicing concerns over potentially losing fans due to the new aero development.
“There will be confusion at the start of the season because everyone has to relearn Formula 1,” he told Sport.de. “And the rules certainly don’t favour Max Verstappen and his style of driving. It’s less about racing. But that’s how things are developing: more regulations, more rules for the drivers, ‘don’t do this, don’t do that’.”
New Rules, New Names, New Possibilities
Same drive for Victory#F1 pic.twitter.com/WY0sqLjrK9
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 18, 2026
“It’s a drivers’ world championship and not an engineers’,” Ecclestone continued. “Formula 1 is now competing more with Formula E. Maybe the fans like that, but I don’t think so.
“The danger is that we’ll lose the fans. I sincerely hope I’m wrong.”
