Carlos Sainz warns Formula 1’s 2026 cars will be “very complicated”, describing the next-generation machinery as mentally demanding, but reckons drivers will eventually adapt.
The 2026 rules package is set to overhaul both chassis and power unit design, pushing for lighter, more efficient cars with a stronger reliance on battery-powered performance.
But that shift will come with increased in-lap management demands, from energy balancing to mode switching, leading some to question whether the cars are becoming too technical.
Having tested the early concept in Williams‘s simulator, Sainz admitted the new regulations – which include more active systems, increased electric power deployment, and aero changes – will place a far greater cognitive load on drivers.
“It occupies a lot of brain space while you’re driving,” he said. “At the beginning we are all like, what the hell is going on here and why do we need to do so much of this and why is the car feeling different every lap?”
But Sainz drew comparisons with past transitions in F1, particularly the switch from V8s to hybrid V6s in 2014.
“If you ask Lewis, for sure at the time it was a shock how much the driver had to think about things that before, with the V8, we would never think about. But then we all get used to it, we all adapt.”
Ultimately, Sainz believes drivers will rise to the challenge, no matter how demanding the new regulations become.
“We’ll just adapt to whatever they give us. Just go as fast as we can. If we have to do six or seven switch changes through the lap, we will do them and we will just become good at it like we always do.”
Sainz believes the biggest question, however, will be whether the new cars will produce better racing.
