(Motorsport-Total.com) – The new 2026 Formula 1 regulations have caused a lot of discussion in the first three races. For former Formula 2 and Formula E driver Daniel Abt, however, all the outside criticism is incomprehensible. “To be honest? I don’t understand all the excitement at all,” the German writes on his LinkedIn profile.
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The 2026 Formula 1 season has given fans completely different racing than in previous seasons. Thanks to new features such as overtake mode, active aerodynamics, or boost, there are now more overtaking maneuvers again.
Above all, the topic of energy management has led to more position changes and duels – but also to criticism. Many fans are of the opinion that the maneuvers are fake because a driver with an empty battery is defenseless and the duels are artificially prolonged by a yo-yo effect.
But for Abt, the constant complaining goes too far: “Isn’t this the result of what we’ve been demanding for the last few years?” he says. “Everyone wanted more overtaking maneuvers, more variability, and less of a DRS train. Now a new regulation comes along that forces exactly that. And instead of being happy about it, we fall into the same trap again – and suddenly it’s not right again.”
For him, it is typical that after a major change, indignation immediately follows: “We want change, but we don’t really want anything to change,” says Abt.
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He says: “Formula 1 has never been a ‘fair’ sport. The competition has always consisted of interpreting the rules better as a team than everyone else.” Abt continues: “And even if Mercedes currently has a dominant car, that’s nothing that hasn’t happened before. That’s just part of this sport.”
He personally finds the Formula 1 races “significantly more open and entertaining compared to before,” as he emphasizes.
Abt can now watch the races in peace on television, as he declared his own racing career over in 2020. After his championship title in the ADAC Formula Masters, the 33-year-old became runner-up in the German Formula 3 Championship and the GP3 Series.
After two years in the GP2 Series, the predecessor to Formula 2, he drove in Formula E for six years, where he won two races for Audi, including his German home race in Berlin.
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