Fernando Alonso compares F1 2026 cars to ‘rental car’ as driver influence falls

Fernando Alonso has delivered a brutal verdict on F1 2026, claiming the new cars require less driver skill and have the grip of a “rental car”.

Formula 1’s new engine formula is dominating the headlines in the build-up to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, met with mixed reviews from the grid.

Fernando Alonso says F1 2026 cars require less driver skill

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While some of the drivers, such as Lando Norris, say the cars are fun to drive, others are worried the sport has moved too far over into Formula E territory with the new 50/50 split between electrical and combustion power.

It means energy management has become the buzz phrase of F1 2026.

With boost mode, overtaking mode, and battery harvesting, drivers have to choose between carrying speed into a corner or conserving energy for the straights.

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That hasn’t had a big impact through the slower corners, but Alonso reckons it has changed the game in the high-speed corners.

So much so, he reckons it downplays a driver’s ability.

“You’re always on the limit on the grip,” he told PlanetF1.com and other media in Bahrain. “But yeah, it is different. It depends on the corners, obviously. But yeah, you are always at the limit of the grip.

“Also in a rental car, you are always on the limit of the grip, if you push the limits.

“But in high-speed corners, especially, I think it’s less challenging. We have to say that, there’s nothing wrong to say.

“Like in 10, 12 here and some other corners, maybe in Barcelona and other places, we will decide to stop the energy, to save it and go through the corner in a slower speed, and then you have more energy for the straight.

“So from a driver point of view, obviously, your skills matter less now, because you can go as fast as the energy decision you choose before that corner.

“So, yeah, different Formula 1.”

Alonso had previously quipped that a “chef” could drive today’s car as the energy management has taken as much as 50kph out of the cornering speed.

“Now in 10/12 we are like 50kph lower because we don’t want to waste energy there, and we want to have it all on the straights,” he said at the first Bahrain test. “So you do 10,12, instead of 260, at 200.

“The chef can drive the car in 10,12 at that speed, but you don’t want to waste energy, because you want to have it on the straight.

“From a driver,” he continued, “you would like to make the difference in the corner, driving those five kilometres faster, but now you are dictated by how much energy your engine will have on the next straight.”

Alonso was back behind the wheel of the AMR26 on Thursday at the Bahrain International Circuit, the Spaniard laying down the laps on the penultimate day of testing.

Additional reporting by Mat Coch

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