‘Artificial’ races
While waiting for the next Japanese Grand Prix, the 2026 world championship has reserved two races for fans: one in Australia and one in China. Two events that took place with cars that respect the new technical regulationsmuch contested by several enthusiasts despite the spectacle on the track between overtaking and counter-overtaking that occurred based on the battery charge. An aspect, the latter, criticized by expert pilots, who considered the races seen so far as ‘artificial’.
Among these is the 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuvewho expressed his opinion on the new F1 a Sky Deutschland after the Chinese GP together with Ralf Schumacher: “It’s a different race, but it’s fun. So what do you want? Do you want a good show? We’re putting on a good show – commented the Canadian – but wait. If you asked a pure pilot, like the one of our times, (his and Ralf Schumacher’s) I believe that he would have hated it. We started racing, and it was a tough and difficult environment, whereas this is a different thing. It requires a different set of skills. You still see the best ones in the lead. It was fun because it’s new, so we don’t know what to expect. But if we were to do ten exactly the same races, at some point it would become repetitive. The difference between when energy is exploited or not is enormous. For now it’s fun. Let’s see how it evolves.”
The same Schumacher shared Villeneuve’s opinion on the new Formula 1, reiterating how the latter has not won over ‘old-school’ drivers, despite having been initially impressed by the first laps in Australia: “I have to say that when I saw the first laps in Melbourne I thought it was exciting – he added – it’s a bit like motorcycling races, with overtaking. But then, thinking about it and reviewing the race, I thought it was a little too much, too artificial. We need to make sure that Formula 1 remains the pinnacle of the sport and that the driver makes the difference, and at the same time, we need to make sure that overtaking is there and makes the race more exciting. At the moment, I think the balance is not right. What has changed in Formula 1, in my opinion, is that everyone seems to be aware of it, everyone is working together and is willing to change something, and that is the most important thing.”
