Several Formula 1 drivers finished qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix lamenting the impact the sport’s new power unit regulations have had on a flat-out lap at Suzuka.
A three-fold increase in the deployment of electrical power under the 2026 regulations has resulted in situations on track where cars are either running out of electrical power or forced to harvest energy on straights or in corners.
In qualifying, some of Suzuka’s most iconic high-speed corners appeared neutered as drivers were forced to recharge the car’s battery rather than push to limit of grip.
The two main straights also saw speeds dip long before the next braking point as engine power was either transferred to charging the battery of the hybrid system, known as super clipping, or drivers lifted off the throttle and coasted before braking.
Lower speeds in corners and strange speed profiles on straights have been two of the biggest criticisms of the impact of the new rules on qualifying sessions, and Suzuka was no exception.
“It still hurts your soul when you see your speed dropping so much — 56 kph down the straight,” reigning champion Lando Norris said of the top speed of his McLaren.
Fernando Alonso, who said he was driving so far below the limit in high-speed corners during preseason testing that Aston Martin’s chef could have been behind the wheel, said the challenge of Suzuka qualifying was now lost.
“It’s gone,” he said.
“I told you in Bahrain, Turn 12, the chef could drive the car now and maybe fifty percent of the team members, I think, at least can drive in Suzuka.
“Because, as I said a few times already, high-speed corners now became the charging station for the car. So you go slow there, you charge the battery in the high-speed, and then you have the full power on the straight.
“So driver skill is not really needed anymore. You just need to back off the throttle or turn down the battery and you charge the thing. So, yeah, no more challenge in the high speed.”
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Williams driver Carlos Sainz said the limitations of the regulations were particularly apparent in qualifying than practice sessions as drivers start to push harder and spend more time at full throttle.
“A bit disappointed in qualifying as the more you pushed the slower you went,” Sainz said. “That’s what happened to me in Q2.
“I think I had a bit less slipstream in my lap and I was in clean air. I went quicker in every corner, slower in every straight and I went 0.1 seconds slower.
“And that’s simply because I spent more time full throttle because I went faster in the corners and pushed harder at a high speed, pushed everywhere.”
Despite the FIA’s attempts to mitigate the problem by limiting the amount of electrical energy drivers were allowed to harvest in qualifying at Suzuka, Sainz said he was forced to exercise different techniques to keep the battery topped up.
“Super clipping came into the deployment a bit and there was lift and coast also in that quali lap, so overall not good enough for F1,” he said.
“Listening to the FIA yesterday they seem to be pushing and have a plan in mind, but I’m a bit worried that some teams will push back and be against changing it too much because they have other interests.
“But I think we have made it clear from the drivers that it needs to get better and hopefully they will listen to the drivers instead of the teams.”
