'Too much negativity' - F1 star tells rivals to stop criticism

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'Too much negativity' - F1 star tells rivals to stop criticism

2026 has seen wholesale regulation changes in F1

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Wednesday 8 April 2026 17:00

An F1 star has suggested that there's 'too much negativity' around the sport following the arrival of the new regulations.

Wholesale regulation changes hit F1 at the start of 2026, with brand new power units which feature a greater emphasis on electrical energy, and new chassis rules which focused on creating closer, more entertaining racing.

And we have seen plenty more overtakes, with all three grands prix so far producing vastly more overtakes than the 2025 versions of the events.

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But despite this, a number of drivers have been bemoaning the amount of management of their battery capacity that they've had to have been doing, with Max Verstappen claiming driving the new rules are like Mario Kart, and that the cars are 'not fun' to drive.

Verstappen has even threatened to quit the sport unless changes are made, while other drivers including Carlos Sainz have issued scathing assessments of the FIA's failure to listen to drivers, with safety becoming a topic of conversation following Oliver Bearman's crash at the Japanese GP.

Now, Alpine F1 star Pierre Gasly has opened up on the feel of the F1 paddock at the moment, claiming that there is too much negativity involved from other drivers.

"I think, honestly, there's a bit too much negativity around it and I don't like that," Gasly told media at the Japanese GP. "I really think that we still take too much away from the drivers. When you're driving in sector one [at Suzuka] and you've got a certain grip, it doesn't really matter. The battery, all these things, you've still got to be at the limit of the grip you get given.

"Definitely, I agree with what others are feeling [about] the battery management, etc. I think we all agree. We all see the same stuff. We all speak the same language. We all want the sport to be as good as it can be. I'm sure we'll do what's best. "It's a bit of a review. I'm sure [during the] break everyone's going to make the best of it to try to get the F1 in better shape."

Sainz's FIA assessment in full

While most of Verstappen's concerns about the sport have been more to do with the enjoyment of it, Bearman's crash last weekend has also led drivers to speak up about safety concerns involved with the enhanced closing speeds that we are seeing in F1 2026.

Bearman appeared to be caught out by how quickly his car caught up to the back of Alpine's Franco Colapinto, whose car was harvesting energy at a usually high-speed section of the track.

In order to avoid Colapinto, Bearman swerved onto the grass, but this caused his car to spiral out of control and into the barriers.

F1's governing body are set to meet on April 9 to discuss what changes can be made to the current regulations, both to improve driver safety and to address concerns about the enjoyment of the sport.

Sainz is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA), an organisation which seeks to look after driver interests regarding safety, regulations, and sporting matters.

"I’m excited to see what FOM and FIA come up for the new regulations," Sainz told Sky Sports F1's Rachel Brookes at the Japanese GP. "I am hopeful they will come up something a bit better for Miami.

"Given the fact that the accident with Ollie that we saw today, we’ve been warning them about this kind of thing happening, this kind of closing speeds and these kind of accidents were always going to happen.

"I’m not very happy with what we’ve had up until now and hopefully we come up with a better solution that doesn’t create these massive closing speeds and a safer way of going racing.

"I was so surprised when they said no, we will sort out qualifying and leave the racing alone because it’s exciting. As drivers, we’ve been extremely vocal that the problem is not only qualifying, it’s also racing.

"We’ve been warning that this kind of accident was always going to happen. Here we were lucky there was an escape road. Now imagine going to Baku or going to Singapore or going to Vegas and having these kind of closing speeds and crashes next to the walls.

"We, as the GPDA, we’ve warned the FIA these actions are going to happen a lot with this set of regulations and we need to change something soon if we don’t want them to happen.

"It was 50G, I heard, it’s higher than my crash in Russia in 2015, I was 46G. Just imagine what kind of crash you could have in a Vegas, Baku et cetera. I hope it serves as an example and the teams listen to the drivers and not so much to the teams and people that said the racing was okay, because the racing is not okay."

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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F1 Alpine 2026 regulations Pierre Gasly