EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIn the space of just three races, Formula 1's new regulations have divided opinion within the paddock and among fans.At one extreme, the changes have been labelled "anti-racing" by Max Verstappen, driving the four-time world champion to question his future participation in the sport. At the other end of the spectrum, a significant increase in the number of overtakes has provided a defense for the new rules -- and is frequently used by those with either genuine enthusiasm for the new era or those looking to maintain a competitive advantage.A fairer assessment of F1 in 2026 likely lies in a more nuanced middle ground. Some elements of the new rules have provided real entertainment on race days, but they have a tendency to be double-edged -- with the certain negatives straying into the non-negotiable field of safety.After the Japanese Grand Prix, the FIA issued a statement recognizing some of the more worrying shortcomings of the new rules and reiterating its plans to hold a series of meetings to discuss potential solutions (a date is set for an initial meeting with technical bosses on Thursday with further meetings with team bosses and F1 thereafter). Canceled races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have afforded the sport more time to make considered tweaks to the rules before the next round in Miami on May 2 -- hopefully mitigating the risk of unintended consequences in the process.With the upcoming meetings in mind, ESPN takes a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from first three races of 2026.The goodLet's start with the positives, and where better than the amount of action seen on race days this year compared to 2025?According to unofficial F1 database, FORIX, the number of overtakes at each round this season has more than doubled compared with the same events last year. In Australia there were 39 overtakes (up from 17 in 2025), in China there were 71 overtakes (up from 31 in 2025), and in Japan there were 43 overtakes (up from 15 in 2025).Amid the criticism of F1's new regulations, it's easy to forget how dull the spectacle had become in 2025, with races often decided by the run down to the first corner. This year, variations in start-line performance among the top teams has meant the excitement has been set in motion by a change in order ahead of the first corner.But the nature of this year's overtaking has left plenty of observers cold, and has frequently been criticized for being "artificial." The extra electrical power on tap under the new rules means drivers can use "boost" or "overtake" modes to make relatively easy passes on rivals who are not deploying full power on the same stretch of asphalt. What's more, the tendency for "yo-yo racing" -- when a driver uses their boost to make a pass only to be re-passed on the following straight when they run out of battery power -- inflates the statistics without adding a huge amount of meaningful action to the show.Even so, races are undoubtedly more fluid in 2026. For one of the sport's longest-standing drivers, that is a significant step in the right direction."That is how racing should be," seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton said when asked about "yo-yo racing" ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. "It should be back and forth, back and forth. It shouldn't be, like, one move is done and then that's it."If you go back to karting, it's the same thing. People going back and forth, back and forth, you can never break away. No one ever has ever referred to go-karting as yo-yo racing. It's the best form of racing, and Formula 1 has not been the best form of racing in a long, long time."Hamilton's argument is backed up by events at the the Japanese Grand Prix.Although there was a large amount of passing and re-passing linked to battery usage, the overall spectacle felt like a step forward compared to the turgid and processional 2025 edition of the race. What's more, the battle for victory between Oscar Piastri and the two Mercedes drivers was shaping toward an exciting conclusion before a safety car helped Kimi Antonelli leapfrog both his rivals and spend the second half of the race largely unopposed. In fact, in two of the three races this year, safety cars have played a role that has taken some of the sting out of the lead battle.Putting the divisive issue of battery-assisted overtakes to one side, there are other elements of the 2026 rules that have had a positive impact on racing. Changes to the aerodynamic regulations appear to have succeeded in making it easier for cars to follow one another in high-speed corners.The FIA aimed to write the regulations in such a way that a car 20 meters behind a rival retained 90% of its total downforce and, therefore, held a better chance of attacking the car in front. That number is up from 70% at the end of last year after the previous generation of cars became increasingly aero sensitive and struggled in the messy aerodynamic wake coming off the car in front.Although evidence of whether the 90% target has been achieved is largely anecdotal at this stage, multiple drivers have said it is now easier to follow a rival in high-speed corners."Out of all the cars that I've driven in 20 years, this is the only car that you can actually follow through high speed and not completely lose everything that you have [in terms of grip]," Hamilton added. "You can stay behind now."A reduced minimum weight limit and smaller dimensions have also resulted in nimbler cars that have largely been praised by the drivers. Although these changes have gone under the radar amid complaints about battery management, F1's rule makers should be applauded for these early successes.The badWhile a handful of drivers have spoken in support of the fluid racing under the new rules, none of them have had a positive word to say about the impact the changes have had on qualifying. Deployment of energy has become such an important performance differentiator over a qualifying lap that drivers are now rewarded for driving to the power unit's algorithm rather than the limit of grip. That means using some high-speed corners to harvest energy rather than push the limits in order to lower overall lap time by deploying that energy on the straights."High-speed corners have now became the charging station for the car," Fernando Alonso said after qualifying in Suzuka. "You go slow there so you can charge the battery in the high speed, and then you have the full power on the straight."The underwhelming nature of qualifying in 2026 was most evident in Suzuka's famous 130R corner. After deploying energy out of the previous corner, cars were approaching 130R faster than last year but then losing speed through the entry, apex and all the way to the following chicane as the electrical power ran out and energy harvesting kicked in. The result was drivers slowing by more than 50km/h (31 mph) on a section of circuit where the challenge had always been about maintaining as much speed as possible."It hurts your soul when you see your speed dropping so much; 56 km/h down the straight," world champion Lando Norris said after qualifying. "It's not like the lap times are miles off. A 1:26.9 was pole last year, and it's a couple of seconds [off], which is a lot, but it's also not a huge amount."So it still feels special. It still feels like it's an on-the-edge lap, and you're taking risks here and there and so forth, but does it feel as amazing as last year? No, I don't think any track will."We'd better get used to that."The situation is made even more complicated if a driver makes a minor error in a high-speed corner that requires them to go below 98% throttle input for more than a second. As part of a safety mechanism designed to prevent cars entering straights surprisingly slowly by not deploying electrical energy, the power units have a permitted ramp-down rate for electrical deployment that starts at full deployment before gradually dialing back the electrical power.By making a mistake and lifting off the throttle in a corner that would normally be flat out, the driver triggers the ramp-down process in an area where his engineers had not planned for it to be used. It means more power might be used initially, but in doing so plays havoc with the carefully mapped-out deployment strategy around the rest of the lap, and ultimately leaves the car with less electrical power at a more crucial section of circuit later in the lap.This issue caught out Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc during qualifying in both China and Japan, leading him to vent over his team radio in Suzuka."I honestly cannot stand these rules in qualifying," he said. "It's a f---ing joke."In the calm of the media pen after the session, he elaborated on his frustrations."The thing is in Q3, that's where you want to get out on the track and try things you've never tried before, taking risks that you've never taken before, and that's been rewarding for most of us in all our career, and now this is not possible anymore," he said. "Every time you go a little bit over the limit, any time you have a bit of a snap, this is costing energy on the power unit side and then you pay the price more. I feel like at the moment, consistency is paying off more than being brave and going to take something that you've never tried before, which is a shame and which makes qualifying a little bit less challenging."Williams driver Carlos Sainz succinctly summed up the 2026 qualifying experience after a similar disappointment in Suzuka."The more you pushed, the slower you went," he said.The enduring appeal of F1 qualifying has always been watching drivers push their cars to the absolute limit. In 2026, that is no longer the case, and for anyone tuning in on a Saturday, no amount of overtaking the following day will fill that void. The issue has been recognized by the sport and is expected to be a key topic of upcoming discussions.The uglyDuring preseason testing, a number of drivers and team personnel raised concerns over the potential for a big accident early in the season. The difference in speed between a car deploying full electric power and one harvesting was so big that it seemed inevitable that someone, somewhere was going to get caught out by the differential and end up in the wrong place at the wrong time.After a number of close calls, the inevitable incident happened on lap 21 of the Japanese Grand Prix when Oliver Bearman found himself traveling toward Spoon corner at 308km/h (191 mph) with full deployment while the Alpine of Franco Colapinto was doing just over 250km/h (155 mph) with no electrical deployment. Colapinto positioned his car in the middle of the track, as any driver would have done in previous years, but the 50km/h (31 mph) closing speed caught Bearman off guard and forced him to take to the grass to avoid a collision. Once off the circuit, Bearman lost control of his Haas and became a passenger as he entered a spin and slammed into the barrier on the exit of the corner.The impact registered 50G on the in-car accelerometer, and Bearman was lucky to escape with nothing more than a contusion on his right knee. The incident highlighted what many had feared would happen, and F1 can consider itself lucky that the outcome was not more serious."We've spoken about that being a possibility since these cars were conceptualized," Piastri said following the accident. "Yeah, it's what we're stuck with, with the power units, and there's no easy way of getting around it. I think we understand as a sport there's a lot of things we need to tweak, a lot of things we need to change, and especially on safety grounds, yes, there's some things that need to be looked into pretty quickly."Piastri's team principal, Andrea Stella, was among the most vocal members of the paddock on the issue during preseason testing. Since the Bearman incident, he has called for the closing-speed issue to become the No. 1 priority at the upcoming meetings."When it comes to the incident that involved Oliver, I think this situation, when you know that the closing speed can be as big as can happen with a car lifting or being in a super clip and the other cars having deployment, is not a surprise -- we said that already in testing," Stella said. "It is in the agenda of the FIA in terms of the aspects of these 2026 regulations that should be improved. We don't want to wait for things to happen to put actions in place."So today something happened. I think Oliver, luckily, it seemed like he got out of it with just some bruises, but nothing too major. We have a responsibility to put in place the actions that, especially from a safety point of view, should be implemented."Exactly what that solution, or any of the solutions to the problems raised above, will look like remain to be seen. Small tweaks linked to energy management and software are expected in the short term rather than any wholesale changes, with safety likely to be the first focus. Ideas proposed on Thursday by the FIA and teams' technical heads will then be subject to further discussions between team principals, the FIA and F1 before final decisions are made.
