Oliver Bearman has described his "sad" realisation about the reality of managing F1's new power units for the first time in testing.
Although the 2026 power units feature three times as much electrical energy as in 2025, up to 350kw instead of the 120kw of last season, the batteries now provide a higher share of the total power output of the engine.
There is an equal 50-50 split between internal combustion engine and batteries, with Bearman completing 148 of Haas's 387 laps in Barcelona, as the team learned about its customer Ferrari power unit for the first time.
Detailing his initial takeaways from the test in Spain, Bearman, going into his second full-time season, believes the "most annoying" thing about the new rules is the energy management, something he also labelled as "sad."
"I mean, Barcelona is probably one of the more extreme circuits," Bearman told select media, including RacingNews365, when asked for his initial feelings on the new regulations.
"It is more of an energy-starved track with not many real braking zones, so it is a bit more challenging to harvest the energy that we need.
"I would say that the best aspect is that the car is a bit lighter, it feels a bit more nimble, but you still have an incredible amount of downforce.
"We've been blessed in the last few years to probably have one of of the most downforce heavy and producing cars that we've had in history, so the new regulations were always going to be a step back, but it is still impressive, and this was just the launch car that we were driving in Barcelona, there is still a long way to go in finding downforce.
"The annoying thing is definitely the energy management, the clipping and all these sorts of things.
"It is definitely more than we're used to, but that's a given considering the reliance on the electrical [power] compared to the previous generation, so it is to be expected.
"But, actually feeling it in reality for the first time, is a little bit sad, but it is one of those things."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes and Nick Golding, as they look back on last week's five-day F1 test in Barcelona. McLaren's upgrade strategy is discussed, as is Aston Martin grabbing much attention with its striking AMR26.
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