Alonso puts new regulations under fire: 'This is unachievable'

On Thursday, the FIA presented the new regulations for 2026. While most of what the engine will look like in 2026 was already known, the details of the new car regulations were new to the public. What immediately stood out was the active aerodynamics and associated gimmicks to make overtaking easier.

"It looks complicated," Alonso said ahead of the race weekend in Canada. "At the end of the day, the fans need to say their point of view. For us, it's just maybe extra work on the steering wheel or different buttons to press. Definitely the technology and the complexity of the cars are quite high at the moment. It doesn't look like it will be less in 2026. Also the engines are very ambitious."

Alonso critical of new regulations

Not only are the targets for the engines ambitious, but also those for the cars themselves. Namely, these have to be 30 kilograms lighter than the current cars. A fine aim, but when asked if this is a 'gimmick', used to lure the fans, Alonso opens fire and does not know when to stop.

"I think it is probably impossible to achieve 30 kilos already. The thing that is, if you put the power unit being 50% electric and you need the batteries to support that, the cars and the tyres, I think they are heavier as well. Cars will just increase 20 or 30 kilos because of the power unit. And then you want to reduce the weight.
So for 30, you need to drop 60 kilos of the current car, which seems at the moment probably to the team it's an impossible target," he said.

"They have two years to achieve that target. As always in Formula One, what is impossible in 2024 will become reality in 2026 because there are very clever people. I think all is a consequence of something else that is in the car. I think it should be more simple. It should be more about pure racing and just more down to the drivers and to the team and that specific setup, that specific racetrack. And more freedom into the design of the cars. Some Formula One cars, they had six wheels just to give an example."

"Same when we had Michelin and Bridgestone tyres, 2005. Maybe a difficult season for Bridgestone if Michelin were better. Maybe rain here in Montreal and the intermediate tyres are great for Bridgestone and all the Bridgestone cars, they can win the race and be on the podium. I like that kind of freedom that you can choose something and it's not just dictated everything by the regulations. But as I said this is a personal point of view and everyone will have theirs. I'm happy. I will adapt. But the most important thing is that you have the fastest car and that's what we need to work on," Alonso concluded his long monologue.