The Frenchman believes that energy management has profoundly changed the way of driving a Formula 1 car. According to him, drivers no longer systematically try to take every corner at the limit.
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Is modern Formula 1 moving away from its essence? Pierre Gasly thinks so. Without directly attacking the 2026 regulations, the Alpine driver believes that the importance given to energy management has profoundly transformed the art of driving.
According to the Frenchman, it is no longer enough to attack at maximum in every corner to set the best lap time. On the contrary, you now have to accept lifting off in certain places to optimize battery usage for the rest of the lap.
An evolution which, in his eyes, goes against what has always been the DNA of the discipline.
Gasly: “Sometimes you have to accept leaving some margin”
Gasly explains that the new power units impose an unprecedented level of management. Drivers must constantly balance between immediate speed and energy efficiency.
“When you can use full power out of a corner, it’s an absolutely unique sensation. I will never get tired of it. Today, with all this battery stuff, I won’t go into details because I’m not a big fan of this philosophy and I prefer to stay measured on the subject.”
However, the Frenchman believes that the legislator has gone too far in terms of hybridization.
“In my opinion, we have gone a bit too far. We have a lot to manage. You now have to drive efficiently, which doesn’t necessarily mean going as fast as possible in every corner.”
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And that is where, according to him, the real revolution lies.
“You have to understand in which corners you absolutely have to attack at 100%, and in which ones it’s better to keep a bit of margin in your driving and in how you get back on the throttle, in order to get a better lap time.”
A philosophy opposed to everything he has learned
For Gasly, this approach is almost counter-intuitive after a lifetime spent in competition.
“Since I started karting at the age of six, there was only one rule: when you’re behind the wheel, you attack at maximum in every corner. That’s how this sport should work.”
These remarks echo the many criticisms expressed in recent months by drivers about the new technical rules. Several of them believe that the importance given to energy recovery and management now influences driving more than the pursuit of pure speed.
The sensations remain exceptional
However, Gasly does not question the aerodynamic performance of current cars. Despite the reduction in available power at certain moments of the lap, F1 cars continue to offer extraordinary cornering speeds.
“We still have a lot of aerodynamic downforce. At Silverstone, in the Maggotts and Becketts sequence, we take those corners at 270 or 280 km/h, with peaks of 5 G. These are sensations you find nowhere else but behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car.”
Still, for the Frenchman, the philosophy of driving has changed. Now, the fastest driver is no longer necessarily the one who attacks the hardest in every corner, but the one who best manages his energy over the entire lap. A paradigm shift that continues to fuel the debate about the identity of Formula 1.
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