David Coulthard has suggested the F1 2026 regulations will fundamentally change Formula 1 and said it was a concern shared by the drivers and engineers.
The FIA unveiled the technical regulations for F1 2026 in June and with a larger emphasis placed on the battery, Coulthard said it will fundamentally change the sport.
David Coulthard raises questions over F1 2026 regulations
For the first time in F1 history, power from 2026 onwards will be a 50/50 split between the internal combustion engine and electrical power with the complex MGU-H system dropped.
While Christian Horner has warned of the ‘Frankenstein’ style cars needed to accommodate such an enormous battery, which will produce three times more power at 350kw, Coulthard has now said it “changes the profile of the lap.”
“I remember years ago, when I was a driver being asked ‘what do I think about the regulations?’ I said I don’t and that was my job at the time,” he exclusively told PlanetF1.com.
“It’s for Adrian [Newey], the technical team, to think about the regulations.
“It’s my job to think about the sporting rules, what can I exploit, what are the scenarios where I could gain an advantage? I was very much focused on areas that I could influence.
“Having said that, I have a concern that I feel is shared by the engineers and drivers that as we increase them to a 50/50 electrical, internal combustion that changes the profile of the lap and how the cars develop.
“In classic racing terms. Your Vmax (maximum velocity) is at the end of the straights and then you break into the corner.
“There is the potential reality that they’ll accelerate, and then they’ll start decelerating towards the braking zone so your Vmax will be somewhere around the middle of the straight, which is a different way of racing.
“They will all race it, the best drivers will win, the best teams will win. But how we perceive [it will change].”
Coulthard was speaking in a room alongside Daniel Ricciardo and suggested that the Australian’s style of late-brake overtaking may not happen under the new regs.
“If they’re slower at the braking zone, they’ll brake later. So we could end up with a shorter braking distance which may be detrimental to overtaking – so Daniel Ricciardo’s dives on the inside may not happen.”
Coulthard was not the only one to raise concerns on the new rules with another ex-Red Bull driver Mark Webber highlighting the issue of weight.
While the F1 2026 cars will be 30kg lighter than their current counterparts, the Australian said it needs to be a lot more and that heavier cars are more dangerous than lighter ones.
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“The weight is a big problem,” he also told PlanetF1.com of the current cars. “I mean, they’re just too heavy.
“All the drivers would love the cars to be lighter and when you put in another 20 kilos in, you’ve got to put more weight in to make it safer.
“30 kilos less is like one string on a tennis racket. It’s nothing. So they need to really try to get 150 kilos out of the car in the future.
“They’re safer too. It’s not as safe for the drivers when the cars are heavier.
“I have crashed in the same corner in a light Formula 1 car and a heavy sports car in Brazil and in the impact, it is really not helpful to have the extra weight because the drivers are still part of that inertia. So to have a lighter car is much safer.”
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