Pierre Gasly: "Too much negativity" around F1 2026 as driver skill still matters

Alpine's Pierre Gasly backs calls to tweak the divisive 2026 Formula 1 regulations and improve qualifying, but disagrees with the negativity around the new rules taking away opportunities for the drivers to make a difference.
 
The new regulations, which place a huge emphasis on electric energy management, have significantly changed how drivers and teams approach qualifying, with the need to harvest energy changing the extent to which drivers can push.

While Japan's scary accident for Oliver Bearman further placed the huge closing speeds between cars in the spotlight as a safety hazard, the most striking artefact of the new formula is the need for cars to lift and coast and super clip - charging the battery against the engine - in qualifying.

It has led to some of the most exciting corner sequences on the calendar being neutered in qualifying, causing dismay among drivers and fans alike, with a review planned next week to make tweaks ahead of the next race in Miami in four weeks' time.

The drivers are pretty much unanimous in their desire to restore qualifying to a flat-out driving contest, but Alpine's Gasly does refute claims that driver skill no longer makes a difference with the 2026 spec of cars, which have also seen their downforce slashed and are therefore more tricky to drive in corners.

"I think, honestly, there's a bit too much negativity around it and I don't like that," he said in Japan. "I really think that we still take too much away from the drivers. When you're driving in sector 1 [at Suzuka] and you've got a certain grip, it doesn't really matter. The battery, all these things, you've still got to be at the limit of the grip you get given.

"Definitely, I agree with what others are feeling [about] the battery management, etc. I think we all agree. We all see the same stuff. We all speak the same language. We all want the sport to be as good as it can be. I'm sure we'll do what's best.
 
"It's a bit of a review. I'm sure [that during the] break everyone's going to make the best of it to try to get the F1 in better shape."

Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

Gasly has been one of the standout drivers of the season so far, benefiting from Alpine's leap forward in competitiveness as the team switched to Mercedes power units and reaped the rewards from switching its development focus to 2026 from an early stage last year.

After Gasly scored a point in Australia's season-opener, Alpine made much bigger advances in China and Japan as it further understood both its car and its new Mercedes power unit. Gasly finished sixth in Shanghai from seventh on the grid, and successfully defended his seventh grid spot in Japan.