Lance Stroll misses the old naturally aspirated engine era and criticizes the management race – Why downshifting on the straights is causing ridicule at Aston Martin
Shortly before the season opener in Melbourne, the new Formula 1 regulations are already providing plenty of talking points in the paddock. The buzzword is often: energy management. Drivers must manage the 350 kW of electrical power coming from the MGU-K as effectively as possible. This leads to some “unnatural” maneuvers behind the wheel.
George Russell has already confirmed that downshifting on the straights—a scenario Max Verstappen warned about years ago—can indeed occur. However, the Mercedes driver did not find this unnatural and compared it to downshifting in a road car on a steep slope. In addition, several drivers, including Esteban Ocon, even expect lift-and-coast during qualifying runs. Lance Stroll only completed two installation laps at the shakedown in Barcelona and therefore does not yet have a complete picture of the new rules. But when Russell’s comments came up at the Aston Martin launch in Saudi Arabia, the Canadian had to laugh.
“I’m sure that if George wins in Australia in his Mercedes with maybe a 30-second lead, he won’t mind downshifting on the straights or doing a lot of lift-and-coast! Maybe he’ll change his mind by then.”
When asked if he really expects Mercedes to be so far ahead in the early stages of the season, Stroll continued: “Normally, with new rules, there’s always a wide field. I don’t have a crystal ball, but yes.”
Stroll misses the naturally aspirated engine era
In general, Stroll is not a big fan of the direction Formula 1 is taking. “I’ve been saying it for a long time: I would love to have naturally aspirated engines with synthetic fuels – but I don’t make the rules, I just drive the cars.”
“Unfortunately, with battery power, motorsport has developed more in this direction. Since I’ve been involved—that is, for the past ten years—even in races, it’s all about fuel and tire management; you don’t push to the limit anymore.”
“With the tires we have now, you can’t attack fully even in many qualifying laps under certain conditions. I would love to drive in an era of Formula 1 like we used to see: with refueling, light cars, good tires, where you always go flat out. But unfortunately, that’s not where we are today.“
However, his conclusion remains pragmatic: ”Whoever is on pole in Australia won’t care about any of that.”
McLaren lost 100 to 120 points of downforce
In addition to energy management, the drivers highlighted another aspect after their first impressions of the new machines: the 2026 cars have significantly less downforce. This is partly because there is less reliance on ground effect, and partly because the FIA, the world motorsport governing body, has once again focused on cars that can drive closer together.
Lando Norris even went so far as to say that in some respects—for example, in terms of the driving style required—it feels more like a Formula 2 car.
When Fernando Alonso heard these words in Saudi Arabia, a smile flitted across the Spaniard’s face. “He had a bigger step than we did! Let’s say he lost 100 or 120 points of downforce; we lost much less. So our adjustment was much easier, I think.”
Alonso is referring to the difficult 2025 season that Aston Martin has had. The loss of downforce for the Silverstone-based team was therefore less dramatic than for top teams such as McLaren.
Chasing times in Barcelona: Not F2 level
While the feeling in the cockpit reminded Norris of his Formula 2 days, the data shows that the picture is less dramatic when it comes to lap times. Where some doomsday scenarios before the season spoke of Formula 2 times, this absolutely did not prove to be the case at the shakedown in Barcelona.
Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets with a 1:16.348 – just under five seconds slower than Oscar Piastri’s pole lap from 2025. It should be noted that the conditions in Barcelona during the cold January shakedown were not representative and that this is only the beginning of a steep development curve. By way of comparison, last year’s Formula 2 pole in Spain was 1:25.180, set by Arvid Lindblad. Although there are still concerns about the new rules, Stroll added that the previous regulation cycle wasn’t particularly enjoyable either and shouldn’t be glorified too much.
“I don’t think the last generation of cars was particularly enjoyable to drive. They were very stiff and heavy—I don’t know, maybe we’ll enjoy these smaller cars more, but time will tell.”
