Shanghai gave us a cleaner answer than Melbourne. The 2026 cars feel like a step forward when it comes to letting drivers follow each other, at least according to Lewis Hamilton. That sounds like progress, but the season is far from settled.

No immediate rule changes

The FIA and Formula 1 have decided not to intervene right away. With the calendar taking the teams to tracks that behave very differently, the plan is to wait and see. There is a one month break after the Japanese Grand Prix, so officials want data from several events before deciding if adjustments are needed to avoid repeat strategies we saw in Australia.

Why some drivers are worried

The main complaint is not about aerodynamics now, it is about energy. The 2026 cars rely heavily on their battery systems. When the battery is available, drivers can use a big power boost. When it runs low, the boost disappears and performance drops.

  • Max Verstappen has been the loudest critic. He said the racing felt artificial and compared parts of it to a video game, saying overtakes often come from a temporary power boost and then you run out of battery and get passed back.
  • Fernando Alonso described the championship as a "world of the battery," noting that starts are exciting because everyone has a full battery, but later in the race the balance is different and some teams manage the battery better than others.
  • Lewis Hamilton disagrees on the overall verdict. He pointed out that in dirty air the new cars keep downforce better, which makes following another car easier and should improve racing in traffic.

What could happen at Suzuka

Suzuka presents a different test. Very fast corners, including the Spoon Curve and the high-speed first sector, may expose the battery issue more clearly. If drivers must back off on the throttle to save energy, some corners could start to feel like slow-motion entries, and that would change how exciting those sections are.

Possible mid-season fixes

Teams and regulators have options, but any change would be tricky. Small corrections during the season could unintentionally make the battery problem worse, or they might solve it. That is why the governing bodies prefer to gather more information from a variety of circuits before touching the rules.

Bottom line

Shanghai was an improvement over Melbourne for pure-drivability and wheel-to-wheel running, but energy management remains the elephant in the room. Drivers are split: some welcome the better aero behavior in dirty air, others fear that races could become about preserving and timing battery boosts rather than pure pace and skill. The next few races, starting with Suzuka, will tell us which view is closer to reality.