Read also: At 44, Fernando Alonso is no stranger to the shifting sands of Formula 1, but as the sport gears up for its massive 2026 technical overhaul, the two-time world champion is sounding a spicy alarm.
While the grid prepares for a "new era," Alonso is mourning the loss of the sport's "peak DNA" – warning that the days of raw, unadulterated speed are now well in the past, having been traded for a calculated "robot style" of racing.
For a man who debuted in F1 in 2001, the shift toward complex hybrid management feels less like racing and more like a math exam at 200 mph. Alonso isn't holding back on his frustration with the technical demands of the new power units.
“I think all the regulations have their own special things, and different driving techniques are needed for different cars and different sets of regulations. I think this one is a little bit more dramatic in that regard,” he observed, speaking to media earlier this week.
“Some of the energy management and some of the driving that you have to do in order to optimise the energy around the lap, and sometimes even in qualifying, is a little bit annoying from a driver point of view. You want to drive at 100% and I think now you need to think a little bit more than that.”
Despite his complaints, the Spaniard isn't a novice to management-heavy series. Having conquered Le Mans and wrestled IndyCars, he knows how to play the long game on Sundays.
©Aston Martin
“I've been driving in IndyCar and the main game there is to save fuel for 75% of the race. I drove in WEC and the main purpose there was the energy control as well with the hybrid system and the traffic. At the end of the day, it's just racing,” he noted.
“The initial feeling is that you would like to drive flat out and have a different car, but F1 went into this direction and these hybrid power units. That requires this kind of energy management, and I think we will get used to it.”
The Death of the Pure Breed
Alonso’s most biting commentary, however, is reserved for the soul of the sport itself. He believes the visceral thrill of the V10 era – the "peak" of F1 – is gone forever, replaced by a world of systems and structures that leave little room for individual "magic."
“I think we will never go back to the late 90s or early 2000s, where the cars were light, fast, the noise of the engine, everything was probably at the peak of the Formula 1 DNA," Alonso stated.
"Now, we are moving more into a different Formula 1. I don't know if it’s better or worse, but different for sure.”
He argues that while the sport must evolve for a new generation, the physical sensation of driving has objectively changed.
“I think it was more interesting before, but we need to sell that for the new generation," he said.
"We cannot say that the cars are worse now, but no one will agree that driving before was worse than driving now. There is for sure more adrenaline with the older cars, there is more sense of driving at the limit with the old cars."
For Alonso, the modern cockpit is becoming overcrowded with interference.
“Even when we jump in a go-kart, that’s probably the purest motorsport racing that you can have,” he argued. “It's nice to drive cars at the limit of the physics and things like that, and not by a kind of efficiency or robot style of driving that you need to maximise efficiency.
“There are a couple of things that are interesting and that we will play with a little bit, but as I said, I prefer to drive with not too many systems interacting with your driving style or with your approach to the corners.
“It seems that you need to overthink a little bit while driving and that's always a risk of having less joy behind the wheel.”
The Way of the World
Comparing the shift to other global sports, he concluded: “It's the way the world seems to go in the last few decades, not only motorsport.
“Everything is more or less like that, and I'm sure it happens in many other sports, football, basketball, NBA, whatever.
“Before, 20 years ago, maybe it was a guy who had a magic night, and he won the game. Now, it's more about structure and you need to have some mechanisms to really perform in a basketball game.
“So, the inspiration from someone is a little bit forgotten in this generation.”
In Alonso’s eyes, Formula 1 is not losing its soul — but it is undeniably rewriting it, line by calculated line.
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