Lance Stroll outlines desire after 'not-so-nice' F1 shake-up

Lance Stroll has explained his desire for F1 engines to deliver whatever power output is demanded by the driver after the big 2026 shake-up. 

The new power unit rules reduced the importance of the ICE in generating power from around 80% to 50%, with the batteries being beefed up to provide half of the available power, but drivers cannot deploy the energy as they wish. 

Instead, it is controlled by on-board computers which learn as the drivers make laps, with any snaps of oversteer or spikes in power demand affecting deployment. 

Drivers must also recharge their batteries constantly, meaning overtaking has become something of a yo-yo effect between cars, with one attacking whilst the other recharges, and vice versa.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has signalled that for the next rules cycle, potentially in 2030 or 2031, F1 will return to V8 engines, with Stroll hopeful that a "more straightforward" power unit could provide "fixes" to some of the issues being experienced.

"I've spoken about this, and it is a shame that we've ended up with regulations, and we're doing all this yo-yo racing," Stroll told media, including RacingNews365. 

"We have to manage the battery, and then there is confusion in the system, and it is not delivering the power we expect.

"Then we do an overtake, and we have to recharge for two laps, or things like this, and I think proper racing should be: you put your foot down for a certain amount of power, that's what you get.

"If you put down 50% power, you get 50% power, and if 100%, you get 100%, that's what I think it should be. 

"But now we've ended up with these not-so-nice regulations, so hopefully, it gets better. I think unless we change to normally aspirated engines, or just more straightforward power units that give a fix to the problems we're having. 

"[The driving approach] doesn't change in the car; whatever car you're driving gives you different things to think about. 

"So this is just another thing to think about, but it's just not fun. It's just not fun driving cars that derate at the end of a straight the way these cars do, these regulations do and the downforce that we lost in the corners compared to previous years just to support these power units. It's just not as fun as it was."