Fernando Alonso says 2026 Formula 1 cars the worst generation he ever drove in Monaco

The Spaniard, who has been in F1 since 2001, knows what he is talking about, as he has driven quite the variety of F1 cars in Monaco, where he has won twice, in 2006 and 2007.

With their power-starved power units and their smaller chassis, the 2026 cars were supposed to be less humiliated in Monaco, which does not require high power, which should've masked the shortcomings of the electrical component tasked with the delivery of 50% of the unit's total output.

But Alonso, who also has other worries with Aston Martin's current situation, touched on other aspects from within the cockpit; he said: “This is probably the worst generation of cars I ever drove in Monaco.

“The way you charge the battery, with the braking and lifting off and things like that, obviously creates a lot of inconsistency into the engine braking of the car. Sometimes you have less, sometimes you have push, and sometimes not.

“If the battery is completely full, then you don't recharge because the battery is full. So you don't have engine braking. It's like pushing.

“Now, we harvest a lot during braking,” Alonso, who had a moment with the barriers in FP2, explained. “The rear axle is just charging the battery massively on the braking.

"And then you have these downshifts that you need to interact with the engine blip to engage the next gear. There are a lot of things going on this year, and it seems that we are not at the level yet.

“It's just the rules. Hybrid cars should not be racing. It's as simple as that," the double F1 Champion concluded.

To make matters more natural, the FIA decided to ban straight-line mode in Monaco while also adding limitations on battery deployment for safety reasons. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)