Fernando Alonso has seen more rule changes than anyone else on the Formula 1 grid. He started in 2001—so long ago that out of this year’s eleven teams, only three even existed in their current form. Back then, Aston Martin was still called Jordan, and Alonso drove for Minardi, which is now Racing Bulls.

Now, with the 2026 regulations on the horizon, Alonso and his team boss, Adrian Newey,y face the biggest shake-up of their careers. Aston Martin has already tried some pretty wild ideas this season to get the best out of the car, but there’s already some worry about Honda’s power unit after the Barcelona shakedown.

These new rules are going to change how drivers race each other, no question. Alonso’s already said one part of the update is bugging him as he heads into pre-season testing.

He told MARCA that managing energy in 2026 is going to be “a bit annoying” this year. Alonso explained, “Every set of rules has its quirks, and you have to change how you drive with each car. But this one’s pretty drastic. You need to manage energy through the whole lap, even in qualifying, when you’re supposed to be pushing flat out. That’s going to be annoying from a driver’s point of view.”

He went on, “You really have to think more now. When I drove in IndyCar, most of the race was about saving fuel. In WEC, it was all about energy management along with hybrids and traffic. But in the end, it’s racing. You go when the lightturngo green and stop at the flag. You get used to it fast. At first, you wish you could just drive flat-out, but F1’s gone this way, and these hybrids need that kind of management. We’ll get the hang of it.”

Alonso also said F1 probably isn’t ever going back to the 1990s or 2000s, which he thinks was the sport’s golden era. He hasn’t quite decided if that’s good or bad yet.

He’s worried about over-regulation too, especially as the 2026 engines might force cars to stop accelerating halfway down the straight. Sure, overtake modes and boost buttons could make things more exciting, but Alonso thinks it’s gotten complicated. “You have to plan more before you get in the car or try to overtake, but honestly, the teams are prepared. They run all the simulations, so by Sunday, there aren’t many surprises or big mistakes left for drivers to make.”

He added, “There isn’t much freedom anymore for what you do in the cockpit or how much energy you can use. The FIA really restricts it. You have to reduce power in a certain way, and when you want to use extra energy, you don’t get more than the car in front. We all deploy max energy for a second out of the corner, so honestly, there’s not much you can do. It’s over-regulated, and the differences between drivers are going to be tiny.”

Aston Martin showed up late in Barcelona, but the word isthat thee second half of their season should look a lot better than the start.

As for how long Alonso will keep racing, that’s anyone’s guess. He says it depends on how competitive Aston Martin can be—and whether he actually enjoys racing under these new rules.

FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis just confirmed what the paddock’s been buzzing about: at least one Formula 1 team has pulled off a power unit trick that’s already causing a storm before the new season even starts.

The switch to new power units hasn’t just shaken up the tech; it’s brought new names onto the grid. Renault’s out, but now we’ve got Audi finally joining, Honda back in the mix, and Red Bull Powertrains up and running. And with Cadillac backed by General Motors joining soon, the lineup looks fresher than it has in years.

A big reason for all this change? The rulebook now splits power 50-50 between combustion and electric energy, steering F1 in a new direction. But here’s the thing: Mercedes spotted a loophole and ran with it.

It all comes down to the compression ratio inside the engine. The FIA checks it at ambient temperatures and expects a ratio of 16:1, but Mercedes figured out how to bump it up to 18:1 when the engine heats up at race pace. That little trick gives them more efficiency on track.

Naturally, their rivals aren’t happy. Ferrari, Audi, Honda—they’re all fuming. The FIA’s now scrambling to sort things out before the Australian Grand Prix. No one wants this to end up in court.

Tombazis explained why the rules were written this way in the first place. “There are all these pistons moving, turning the crankshaft, pulling air and fuel in. Designing engines to hit high compression ratios isn’t easy.

“When we set these regulations, we wanted to bring in new manufacturers. It worked—now we’ve got five, and another on the way. If we hadn’t changed things, we’d probably be down to two by now, and that’s a problem.

“Newcomers always start behind. We had to level the playing field, or they’d never catch up, especially with cost caps and development limits. It’s still tough, but at least now it’s possible.

“That's why we simplified some things and cut costs. The compression ratio was one of those changes. We dropped it from 18:1, which was barely reachable, to 16:1 as a compromise.”

The FIA admits, without naming names, that some teams have found ways to push the ratio higher. The goal now is to fix the loophole before the season begins.

“These engineers are clever and always looking for an edge. Some found ways to increase the ratio when the engine’s hot, and that’s what we’re talking about now,” Tombazis said.

“We’ve spent a lot of time trying to solve this. We want it sorted before the first race. The competition should happen on the track, not in the courtroom. That’s the aim.”