Lance Stroll has expressed his dissatisfaction with the upcoming new regulations. Following Charles Leclerc, the Aston Martin driver has reached this conclusion after his first simulator test session with his team’s 2026 contender. Stroll even describes the new regulations as ‘a bit sad’, wishing that the rule changes had steered Formula 1 in a different direction.
The 2026 regulations continue to cause considerable controversy. A year ago, several drivers complained about the weight and potential lack of speed. Now that the first simulator sessions for 2026 are being conducted, things are not improving much. For instance, Charles Leclerc told in Austria that his first time in Ferrari’s 2026 car on the simulator was ‘not fun’ and that he is ‘not a fan’ of the new driving style required by the new vehicle.
Lance Stroll is also not too enthusiastic about the upcoming drastic changes within F1. “I’m not sure if the regulations are that fun and exciting,” the Canadian tells the media in Silverstone. “But it’s ultimately a relative game and if you have a fast car, they are exciting. We’ll see what next year brings.” However, the Aston Martin driver describes the new regulations as “a bit sad, if you ask me.”
Another Direction
The first time Stroll drove the 2026 car in the simulator, his enthusiasm for Aston Martin’s 2026 contender did not increase. “I find it a bit disappointing that F1 has just embarked on this path of electric energy and that we had to remove all the downforce from the cars to support the battery,” the Canadian continues. “It would just be nice to see light, agile, fast cars with a lot of downforce and to simplify the whole thing a bit. Less of an energy, battery, championship project and more of a Formula 1 racing championship,” Stroll concludes.
