‘Too large, too heavy and no enjoyable’ — why Alonso will not miss present F1 vehicles

Fernando Alonso says the present era of Formula 1 vehicles has failed to supply the nearer racing and higher on-track motion they had been meant to unlock, however the two-time champion fears he’ll yearn for his or her pace subsequent 12 months.

“I will not miss this generation of cars, I think,” Alonso stated forward of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. “But I believe subsequent 12 months, most likely, we are going to go slower, and we are going to miss them after we drive the following vehicles as a result of we all the time need to be as quick as potential.

“I believe these vehicles are undoubtedly too heavy. They are too large. And the bottom impact and the experience heights — we’re racing in a approach that’s not actually enjoyable to drive and possibly not even to comply with vehicles.

“The expectations of this regulation, that it was to comply with carefully and to have higher motion on observe, was not likely successful.

“I don’t think we will miss too much of this.”

When Formula 1 launched its sweeping rule reset for 2022, the goal was clear: cut back the aerodynamic turbulence of main vehicles, simplify wings, and depend on ground-effect flooring to let drivers comply with nearer.

For a quick interval, that appeared to work, because the opening half of 2022 noticed tighter gaps and extra side-by-side moments.

But the impact pale rapidly. Teams recovered downforce, reintroduced outwash, and refined the flooring to create highly effective however extremely delicate aerodynamic vehicles.

The variety of overtakes diminished once more, and the DRS grew to become nearly the one useful resource drivers may use to make passes.

Weight additionally grew to become an endemic downside, as security buildings, hybrid parts, and the constraints of the rules pushed the minimal weight to unprecedented ranges.

The scale and bulk of the chassis, widened in 2017 and by no means reined again, have compounded the difficulty.

Mercedes‘ George Russell echoed Alonso’s view, including that the present period has been essentially compromised by its bodily traits.

“I think they haven’t been the most pleasant generation of cars to drive,” Russell stated. “Super stiff, actually low to the bottom, which has induced lots of challenges.

“And of course, since 2017, the cars have been huge, and I think that has created some other challenges. So I think we’re all looking forward to a change and a fresh start – that’s always exciting.”

Russell believes the 2026 route is broadly appropriate, however not bold sufficient.

“I think it’s going in the right direction – making the cars smaller, lighter. Maybe it hasn’t gone quite far enough. But as always, you’ll miss… you always remember the good stuff from something in the past. You never really remember the bad stuff.”

He added that the tempo of the present vehicles might be missed, even when the period itself will not be.

“I’m sure we’re going to miss that high-speed performance and we’ll probably forget about the negatives – but that’s just how life goes.”

Too heavy, too large: How F1 vehicles bought thus far

Alonso and Russell have each targeted on what the vehicles really feel like from the cockpit: stiff, unforgiving, and awkward over kerbs because of the excessive experience heights and ground sensitivity required for efficiency.

Long wheelbases and the sheer width of the vehicles make low-speed sequences cumbersome and wheel-to-wheel racing tougher.

The result’s a era of vehicles which are astonishingly quick, particularly via high-speed corners, however hardly ever fulfilling to drive and infrequently resulting in a scarcity of wheel-to-wheel racing.

The targets of the 2022 rules haven’t materialised in sustained on-track motion.

After the transient early upswing, aerodynamic turbulence has crept again, and vehicles stay tough to comply with via medium- and high-speed corners.

Combined with the ground-effect platforms’ sensitivity, racing has turn out to be closely depending on DRS and undercut cycles.

Street circuits, specifically, have suffered. Heavy, outsized equipment struggles via tight sequences, and drivers ceaselessly report overheating tyres and brakes when following.

2026 worries

Both Alonso and Russell additionally warned that the 2026 guidelines, whereas welcome, include their very own set of considerations.

The FIA intends to shrink the vehicles, minimize minimal weight, simplify aero surfaces and introduce energetic aerodynamics, however groups stay cautious concerning the compromise between chassis drag and the aggressive electrical deployment targets set for the brand new energy models.

Early projections counsel subsequent 12 months’s vehicles might be slower in corners, probably considerably so, elevating questions on whether or not F1 could merely enter one other transitional interval earlier than the principles stabilise.

Russell’s warning, that F1 “maybe hasn’t gone quite far enough” with reductions, mirrors a sentiment shared by groups.