Lance Stroll ribs George Russell over the latter’s relaxed take on the new F1 regulations for 2026. In the paddock the debate over managing electrical power is in full swing. Because the cars will rely even more heavily on the hybrid system, there are fears drivers may have to downshift on the straights to top up the battery. Stroll is irritated by that prospect, but he also understands why Russell isn’t making a drama out of it.
George Russell played down concerns about the new power unit and likened charging the battery to climbing a hill in a road car. “Honestly, it doesn’t feel that abnormal,” he said after the first shakedown in Barcelona. “I’d compare it to driving up an incline. You’re still full throttle, but you lose a bit of speed. Then you downshift to get the revs up and get up the hill. That’s how it feels when the engine is recovering energy and charging the battery.”
At Aston Martin’s season launch Lance Stroll was asked about Russell’s comments. With a nod to the alleged advantage of the Mercedes engines he drew laughs. “I’m sure George, if he wins the race in Australia by thirty seconds, won’t mind downshifting now and then and lifting a bit,” the Canadian joked. “But maybe he’ll change his mind by then.” Asked whether he really expects such a big advantage, Stroll stayed cautiously optimistic: “Normally there’s a big spread across the field with new regulations. But I don’t have a crystal ball, of course.”
‘Can’t go flat out anymore’
Still, Stroll is worried about the new direction Formula 1 is taking with its power units. “I’ve been saying it for a while, but I think it would be great to run naturally aspirated engines on synthetic fuels,” he continued, seriously. “But I don’t make the rules, I just drive. Motorsport is steadily moving toward electrification. Then again, over the past ten years you also couldn’t go flat out because you had to account for fuel reserves and tyre management.”
“With the tyres we have now, you can’t even always go flat out in qualifying — under certain conditions,” he explained. The Canadian longs for earlier eras. “I’d love to race in a different era of Formula 1,” he concluded. “When refuelling was allowed, the cars were lighter and the tyres lasted longer, you could truly run at full throttle continuously. But unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore today.”
See the 2026 F1 calendar here
