New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) Williams driver Alex Albon believes the new rule changes introduced by the FIA are a step in the “right direction” but are unlikely to fully resolve concerns surrounding the controversial 2026 F1 regulations.
The tweaks were announced on Monday following a series of meetings involving technical heads, drivers, team principals and senior figures of the sport, held during an unexpected break in the F1 calendar.
“Positive, definitely towards the right direction. Is it going to fix everything? Likely not, but how much can we actually fix? I think we’ve gone in the right way to address a lot of the pureness of the sport. So great,” Albon said in response to a PTI query.
F1 drivers have been vocal in their criticism of the 2026 regulations, particularly the role of energy management and the 50-50 power split between combustion and electrical energy.
“I think as a group, every driver would agree that it’s a step in the right direction. Some may feel it’s not enough. But I would say the overall arching feedback from the drivers is, we’re going forward as an organisation,” he said during a select media interaction facilitated by FanCode, the official broadcaster for F1 in India.
The tweaks, which are aimed at reducing the risk of dangerous closing speeds between cars and lowering the chances of start-line collisions among other things, will come into effect from the Miami Grand Prix on May 3.
“I still think after Miami, there’s still going to be a couple of extra final tune before the drivers and the teams are happy.” Albon also suggested that the current regulations compromise the essence of racing by shifting focus away from pure driving.
“Up until now to go faster, you just drive as fast as you can. It’s as simple as that. This year the game has changed where there are many situations where by driving slower you can go faster and so it lacks the pureness of the sport in many ways.
“In terms of you just wanting to drive, you want to know that when you do the lap as quickly as you can, it will be the fastest lap you can do. I think these new regulation changes will improve that, but for the most part, I think maybe 80 per cent of them techniques will go away.” The 30-year-old Thai-British driver admitted he has struggled to adapt to the increasingly software-driven nature of the cars.
“I’ve been a little bit on the back foot with these regulation changes. What I realised is my driving style is maybe not as efficient as I would like. I think the focus is on adapting and changing.
“It’s a different way to drive these cars. A lot of it is basically down to algorithms and sensitivities, making it challenging. It is not physically more difficult. If anything, it’s physically easier, just because the tracks are slower. But it’s mentally a lot more of a challenge.
“It’s not natural to do, like driving slower can makes you go faster. A F1 driver is not built to think that way and so we have to kind of rewire our brain and get into a habit of changing these kind of things is very, very different.” Williams Racing entered the 2026 season with high expectations after topping the midfield last year, but have endured a difficult start and currently sit ninth in the standings after three rounds.
An overweight car and reliability concerns have cost them performance, though Albon remains optimistic about a turnaround.
“We have an aggressive upgrade plan. Miami is maybe not the biggest upgrade compared to what we’re planning for the rest of the season.
“I believe by middle of the season to the end of the season, we’re going to catch up to the midfield. That’s, I think, is a target for us,” Albon added. PTI APA APA AH AH
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