David Coulthard Declares 2026 F1 Rules “Will Frustrate” Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen

David Coulthard believes that the 2026 regulations are bound to be frustrating for the F1 veterans like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

David Coulthard Declares 2026 F1 Rules “Will Frustrate” Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (via Getty), David Coulthard (via Motorsport.com)

In Short
  • David Coulthard believes the 2026 F1 regulations will frustrate Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen due to their complexity.
  • Max Verstappen criticized the new rules, comparing F1 to "Formula E on steroids."
  • Coulthard sees potential opportunities for drivers like Hamilton and Verstappen to excel despite the challenges posed by the new regulations.

The new regulations starting from the 2026 season have been frowned upon by many drivers in the paddock. Among many others, the veterans, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, remain critical of the complexity. As such, former Red Bull star David Coulthard opens up on how the new rules will certainly frustrate the former arch-rivals in Formula 1.

Max Verstappen hasn’t stopped in his tirade against the new regulations, going so far as to call F1 “Formula E on steroids.” Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton has been critical of the regulations as well, claiming that they remained ridiculously complex to perform well. Regardless, the two drivers united against claims that the regulations were dangerous to drivers, especially during race starts.

Now, David Coulthard is of the opinion that the F1 veterans, especially Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso, were all negative about the driving experience in the previous ground-effect era. Coulthard is of the opinion that the drivers want to return to pure flat-out racing from the beginning. Meanwhile, the new regulations introduced a massive complexity factor, especially with the electric and combustion split in the power unit.

Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen, during the last hybrid era with the massive ground-effect tunnels that they had, they were all a bit negative about the driving experience, they just want to be back to pure racing, flat-out racing from start to finish. So with these new regs, there’s a lot more complexity management. 50% of the energy comes from a battery, 50% comes from an internal combustion engine.

David Coulthard said on the Up To Speed podcast.

With the new regulations, David Coulthard reckoned that instinctual driving was eliminated, and drivers relied on the mechanical aspect of the car to perform well. Drivers like Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton now felt that the driving was not natural anymore and did not reward the best drivers on track.

And I think that’s where, for them, the issue comes in because as a driver, you want to be driving a car from a point of instinct. You’re driving, you’re trying to get the best out of the car. Now, it feels like they almost have to be mechanical inside making changes, and it just doesn’t come naturally, and it doesn’t really award the best driver.

David Coulthard added.

David Coulthard reveals ‘big opportunity’ under 2026 F1 regulations

Since the new regulations seem to be difficult for a majority of the drivers on the grid, it will provide a great opportunity to many others. The likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen can capitalize on others’ downfalls and start performing much better on track. As such, David Coulthard sees the positive in the situation and reveals the big opportunity for the drivers.

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (via Getty)
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (via Getty)

David Coulthard accepted that there was a lot of pushback with the new regulations this time around. However, he reckoned that changes were always meant with criticism and doubt at first. Regardless, the regulations came with a big opportunity. Coulthard recalled the past regulations that were nailed by Brawn GP, followed by Mercedes in 2014 and Red Bull in 2022.

What I will say about regulation changes is that, whilst yes, change always comes with a bit of pushback. It also comes as a big opportunity. I mean remember 2009 – Brawn came out, smashed it. Then 2014, it became the era where Mercedes dominated. 2022, Red Bull really understood the ground effect era really well. And now the question mark is who’s going to lead here?

David Coulthard noted.

The pre-season testing sessions are over, and the season opener in Australia is up next. The first race will be a better indicator of what to expect for the remainder of the year. For now, all teams and drivers are managing expectations and not dreaming of a picture-perfect start to the season. Still, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will certainly be the drivers to watch closely as they aim to bounce back on track.

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