Albon fears the worst for fans: 'Already technical for us'
F1 News
The FIA showcased their plans for the 2026 Formula 1 regulations ahead of the race weekend in Canada, and they have been met with criticism from the F1 drivers. Alex Albon is the latest to weigh in on the debate and warns that the cars will be much slower.
"I don't want to speak out of turn, but I think it's going to be very slow, extremely slow," Albon explained to the media, including GPblog. "I'm guessing there's a lot of stuff being done around making sure the straight line speeds are not tapering off at the end with all the MGU-K and whatnot being involved. I still think there needs to be some work done. Seeing some of the work we have done and seeing the speed traces around some of the tracks…it's pretty slow."
Weight reduction
The FIA aims to make the cars more nimble. Therefore, they are reducing the dimensions (very) slightly and imposing a 30-kilo weight reduction. Many drivers, including Fernando Alonso, stated they believe this is impossible. Albon knows it won't be easy to make the reduction though wants to keep an open mind.
"I'm not speaking negatively around it, I just think there are positives and negatives around the whole thing. It seems to be that to recover what the new engine regs are creating means that everything becomes extremely complicated. I'd rather just have a bit more simple engines and maybe more standardised parts within the engines," he added.
Max Verstappen made some Mario Kart references in his response to the regulations. Albon insists the fans should be considered when making the regulations. "Some things we do, such as clear track limit lines, make it easier for the fans, but this is already going to be technical for us, never mind the fans, but let's see," he concluded.