F1's 'battery world championship' - Fernando Alonso fumes at new regulations

Fernando Alonso in Shanghai — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 2026

F1's 'battery world championship' - Fernando Alonso fumes at new regulations

Fernando Alonso is clearly not happy with the new regulations

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 17 March 2026 10:55

Aston Martin F1 driver Fernando Alonso is clearly not a big fan of the new regulations that have swept into the sport in 2026.

The two-time world champion has not even been able to finish a grand prix as of yet in 2026, with his Aston Martin team struggling badly with reliability issues.

Alonso retired from the main race on Sunday after the vibrations coming from his AMR26 became too much, and it capped another weekend in which Aston Martin suffered a double DNF.

Article continues under video

But the 33 laps of Sunday's race which Alonso did complete were clearly enough for him to cast a judgment on F1's new regulations, with the Spaniard calling F1 2026 the 'battery world championship'.

F1's new power units have triple the amount of electrical energy than they did in 2025, and drivers are under much more pressure to manage their battery capacity in order to make use of the new 'overtake mode' alongside the boost button on certain straights.

Alonso was not the only driver to complain about the new regulations after Sunday's race, with four-time champion Max Verstappen also laying into the 2026 rule changes.

"It’s terrible," he told reporters after the race. "If someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is like.

"Not fun at all. Playing Mario Kart. This is not racing. Boosting past, then you run out of battery, the next straight they boost past you again. For me, it’s just a joke."

Alonso's painful Sunday afternoon in China

Aston Martin team principal Adrian Newey said during the season-opening Australian GP that Alonso was in a 'hard mental place' over the team's performance, and that would have continued for him as he once again had to retire his AMR26 in China.

Alonso has been vocal about the vibrations that he suffers when driving the car, and that became too much for him in Shanghai, as it became clear that Aston Martin are not ready to compete in full-length races.

"Continuing until the end of the race while losing feeling in my hands and feet didn’t make much sense," Alonso said after the race.

"(The vibrating) was worse today than any other session in the weekend. We were one lap behind, we were last. It was probably no point to keep on going."

F1 Aston Martin Fernando Alonso 2026 regulations Chinese Grand Prix