Pierre Gasly believes Formula 1’s 2026 energy management requirements have gone too far, arguing that the need to constantly manage battery deployment is increasingly at odds with the flat-out philosophy drivers learn from the beginning of their careers. Speaking on the Autocar podcast, the Alpine driver questioned a key consequence of the new technical regulations: drivers can no longer simply attack every corner as hard as possible if they want to maximise performance over an entire lap.
The 2026 Formula 1 regulations have placed much greater emphasis on electrical energy and battery management, fundamentally changing some aspects of how drivers approach a lap. Gasly still enjoys the sensation of extracting everything from the car, but believes the amount of management now required has become excessive.
Pierre Gasly says F1 2026 battery management has gone too far
“When you manage to use all the power on the exit of a corner, it’s a unique feeling, something I’ll never get tired of,” Pierre Gasly explained. “However, when it comes to this year’s battery management, I think we’ve gone a little too far: there’s really a lot to control now. You have to drive efficiently, which doesn’t necessarily mean going flat-out through every single corner.”
That distinction sits at the heart of Pierre Gasly’s criticism of the F1 2026 regulations. Maximising a lap is no longer simply about carrying the highest possible speed through every section of the circuit. Drivers must also consider where using maximum power is worthwhile and where sacrificing some immediate performance can produce a better overall lap time through more efficient energy use.
It is a concern that has featured repeatedly during the first season of the new regulations. The heavier emphasis on electrical deployment has made energy strategy an increasingly important part of driving, with competitors sometimes required to lift off the throttle or alter their approach to corners to manage the available battery power. Similar concerns about the complexity of F1’s new energy management demands have also been raised elsewhere on the grid. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}
Gasly contrasts Formula 1 with the lesson he learned in karting
For Pierre Gasly, the philosophical conflict is particularly striking because it goes against one of the most basic principles he learned when he first began racing as a child.
“For me, ever since I started racing karts at six years old, there has always been one rule: through a corner, you go as fast as possible. I think that’s how it should work,” Pierre Gasly said. “Now, instead, in Formula 1 there is a kind of constant management: you have to understand which corners to take at 100% and in which ones it is better to leave some margin, both in your driving and when getting back on the power, in order to achieve a better lap time.”
The Frenchman’s comments therefore go beyond a complaint about workload. They question whether the new generation of Formula 1 cars has shifted too far away from the traditional idea of extracting maximum performance at every point of a lap.
Why energy management is changing the way F1 drivers attack a lap
Under the 2026 formula, efficiency has become an integral part of outright performance. The challenge for drivers is not simply to be fast, but to decide where the car’s available energy can be used most effectively. That can mean compromising one corner or phase of acceleration in order to gain more elsewhere.
The effect has already created an unusual dynamic in which lifting off the throttle can sometimes contribute to a faster overall lap. Analysis of the new generation of cars has highlighted how drivers may deliberately sacrifice some corner-entry performance to improve electrical energy recovery and deployment later around the circuit. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
For Pierre Gasly, however, that efficiency-driven approach risks moving Formula 1 away from something fundamental. The Alpine driver is not questioning the sensation of driving the cars at full power; on the contrary, he described it as something he will never tire of. His concern is that drivers are now being asked to spend too much of the lap deciding when not to exploit that performance.
As the 2026 season develops, the debate over Formula 1’s new technical identity is therefore likely to continue. Gasly’s position is clear: adapting to sophisticated energy systems is part of modern F1, but the balance should not come at the expense of the instinct drivers have been taught since karting — to take every corner as quickly as possible.
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