Problems upon problems
Formula 1 in these first three races of 2026, with the new technical regulations just introduced, seems to have truly lost its original nature entirely. The superclipping that causes speed to drop by about 50 km/h on a full straight with the throttle fully pressed wasn’t enough, nor were the software programs that ‘interpret’ in their own way the moments when drivers lift off the throttle for an instant and decide autonomously when to provide or cut power, forcing those in the cockpit to passively endure sudden drops in thrust. The latest development – which emerged at Suzuka following the frightening accident of Ollie Bearman who had to ‘dodge’ Franco Colapinto’s Alpine in front of him when it was in an energy recovery phase – is that now drivers are afraid to defend.
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Alex Albon confessed this, speaking with journalists and revealing that this is indeed becoming a topic of discussion in driver briefings and even in their ‘messaging’ on the now-famous WhatsApp chat that includes them all together. The Williams driver explained that “we are talking about these things right during the drivers’ briefing – regarding closing speeds [to another car], defense, maneuvers, and all these things. At the moment, all of this seems really strange“.
The danger of defense
But what is the drivers’ fear? That a defensive action, perhaps tough but perfectly legal and regular, such as a change of line made halfway down a straight to protect the inside of the corner in an approaching braking zone, turns into a very dangerous move due to an excess of power from the following car or – vice versa – a power cut from the car in front. A rear-end collision of this kind, with a high speed delta, could have tragic consequences.
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“You would like to defend, but sometimes you are worried about the car behind – Albon explained – maybe we just need to make the SM mode (i.e., when cars travel with front and rear wings open) a bit more stable, or less powerful. Something like that. Or maybe make it more like a normal DRS that can be controlled quite easily“. In practice, Formula 1 drivers are now forced to be afraid of doing what they do for a living, which is trying to prevent those following them from making an overtake. And apparently, the only way to solve this problem is… to return to the wing mode that was deliberately removed from the current regulations. Curtain.
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