Gerhard Berger wants to give the new Formula 1 regulations a chance, but emphasizes that, for him, they feel too far removed from “classic motorsport.”
Gerhard Berger drove his last Formula 1 race almost three decades ago. However, the basic principle has never changed since then, because in the end, the driver who was able to stay on the gas longer than everyone else was rewarded—at least until now.
“Until now, the parameters were similar to those in my day,” says Berger in an interview with the Salzburger Nachrichten and the Tiroler Tageszeitung. But with the new 2026 regulations, he now has problems “following the whole thing because it’s such a quantum leap.”
“Now, with all the electrical issues surrounding the combustion engine, where you used to take your foot off the gas to get more power for the next straight, I find it very difficult,” admits the 66-year-old, revealing: “Something inside me resists it.”
“It’s not that I can’t deal with it,” Berger emphasizes. “But if lifting off the throttle is rewarded, then I find it difficult. It contradicts my love of classic motorsport,” explains the ten-time Grand Prix winner.
In addition, “constant overregulation” is a thorn in his side. “And that’s done at a table where people sit who don’t really have the spirit for motorsport,” he says, but also makes it clear: “I also like to be surprised.”
Berger: Those who were fast in the past would also win today
The Austrian is willing to give the new regulations a chance. But even aside from the new rules, Formula 1 has “changed a lot” in some respects since his active days, he reveals, explaining: “I like to compare it to watchmakers.”
“They tinker around for a long time and then find another tenth of a second somewhere. In my day, it was more rustic. You couldn’t see exactly where your teammate had found the time. Was it at the beginning or the end of the curve?” he explains.
“You might have been able to see a little bit here and there on the telemetry, but that was it. You went out and said: Now I have to find a second. Today, everything is very transparent,“ says Berger. ”The balance between driver and engineer is even. The whole thing has changed a lot. But I would still say that whoever won in my day will win today, and vice versa,” he says.
Berger competed in Formula 1 between 1984 and 1997. During this time, he drove for Benetton, Ferrari, and McLaren, among others, and achieved a total of 48 podium finishes, including ten victories.
