George Russel believes that the 2026 Formula 1 cars could be “sketchy” at top speeds due to their low downforce configuration on the straights.
The draft chassis and aerodynamics regulations for the 2026 F1 season were unveiled in the build-up to the Canadian Grand Prix.
A big talking point in the regulations is the inclusion of movable aerodynamics to conserve energy in the hybrid power units.
The proposed regulations will see movable elements on the front and rear wings that will function similarly to DRS to allow the cars to enter a low drag mode on the straights, leading to greater top speeds and what Russell believes to be a heightened risk.
Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) believes that the 2026 F1 cars are “going to be exceptionally quick in the straights, 360km/h probably at most tracks, which is pretty impressive.
“You can imagine in a race that it starts raining and you’re on slick tyres, and you’re doing 250 miles an hour on a street circuit,” said Russell (via Autosport).
“That’s going to be a bit of a sketchy place to be, so these are questions that need to be answered.”
As a director of the GPDA, safety is a key concern for Russell as part of his role representing the interests of his fellow drivers.
The Briton acknowledged that the history of the sport has proved safety implications are often reactive, rather than proactive.
“When it comes to safety, unfortunately, history has told us that incidents need to happen before changes are made,” he argued.
“Everybody needs to do a really thorough job ahead of these regulations, because the cars are going to be so quick.
“To be fair to the FIA, they are fully aware of this and they’re on top of this, and they’re looking at all of the possible scenarios of what could happen.
“Time will tell, but the cars are already bloody fast as they are. Where do we stop, are we going to get up to 400 kilometres an hour? Do the fans really need or want to see this?”
As well as safety concerns, Russell also spoke on the driving characteristics that will come about as a result of the 2026 regulations.
F1 and the FIA are striving to improve the racing spectacle in the series and one of the consequences of this is a potential reduction in downforce generated by the new cars and in turn cornering speeds.
Russell was torn in two minds regarding the compromise between high downforce F1 cars and ones capable of closer racing.
“From a driving standpoint you want the fastest cars, you want to feel like you’re in a fighter jet and in 2020 and 2021 that’s how it felt, and now these cars are getting very quick again,” he said.
“It would be a shame to lose some of that performance of the car. But on the flip side, it will improve the racing if there’s less downforce and there’s less dirty air.
“You can’t have it all and you’ve got to choose your battles. What is it that we want to achieve?
“For me, you want to have good, hard racing, and strong competition, ideally, between every team and every driver.”
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