Lewis Hamilton's first proper media briefing of the 2026 Formula 1 season sounded in places like a pretty savage demolition of the new rules era, with disparaging headline-friendly lines about "slower than GP2" pace, "ridiculously complex" systems and "600 metres lift and coast on a qualifying lap".
But taking those remarks out of the wider context of his conversation wouldn't be entirely fair.
It's clear that he's got misgivings about some elements of F1's 2026 package, but that much of his mood on Wednesday at Sakhir related to the day's difficult track conditions and the very early phase of development the Ferrari is in - and it still seems overall that he's going to enjoy these rules more than what came before.
Having never gelled properly with the previous generation of ground effect F1 cars, Hamilton’s early comments about the 2026 formula following the Barcelona test suggested he was enjoying himself more again.
His tone on Wednesday in Bahrain was much less certain - though many of his comments were specifically influenced by the strong gusts of wind and dusty track creating a challenging first session.
“It didn't feel too bad in Barcelona. Here it's been very gusty, it's a lot hotter so much harder to find the right balance,” he said. “But I think everyone's struggling with it.”
Asked if it was fair to say controlling the rear of the car was not easy, Hamilton replied that “the car's shorter, it's lighter, it's actually easier to catch. So it's quite fun, like rallying a lot” but also said “I think we're slower than GP2 right now, right? It does feel like that.”
Times in the first Bahrain session were still nine seconds faster than the 2025 Sakhir Formula 2 pole.
But while Hamilton reiterated that overall it is “a more fun car to drive”, he had greater concerns about the heavy role of energy management.
While answering a question from The Race on the heavy use of low gears and different corner entry techniques, Hamilton remarked “at Barcelona for example, you're doing 600 metres lift and coast on a qualifying lap. That's not what racing is about”.
And he fears the complexity of the engine side of the rules package will be off-putting.
“None of the fans are going to understand it,” Hamilton replied when asked how much of the procedure would be down to drivers and how much to software.
“It's so complex. It's ridiculously complex. I was sat in a meeting the other day and they were taking us through it and it’s like you need a degree to fully understand it all.
“In terms of managing it, it's pretty straightforward I would say. Maybe in race trim it's going to be different, we will see.
“But then there also is a system that can automatically… once you finish a lap it learns the way that you're driving. But say for example, you lock up and go wide, you cover more distance, it affects that algorithm.
“So we're just trying to get on top of it and understand it. But everyone's in the same boat.”
