Gabriel Bortoleto Says Other F1 Drivers Should Turn The Page On New Rules Complaints

From within the Formula 1 bubble, it's easy to lose perspective on the fact that the cars contesting any given Grand Prix are still the fastest racing machines on the planet. F1's current punching bag du jour for drivers and fans is the battery management required by the new technical regulations. Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto feels F1 is still special and his colleagues should stop constantly complaining. The Brazilian doesn't believe the current formula is perfect, but there can't be significant changes until the next ruleset.

The subjective negatives with the 2026 regulations have drowned out the objective positives. In general, the cars are lighter and more agile. However, discourse revolved around onboard footage of drivers lifting and coasting through high-speed corners. The sights, sounds and spectacle are arguably more important than competitive parity for a vocal contingent of fans. Perception is reality. They would happily sign up to see a race with no passing and a driver win by half a minute if the field was filled with screaming V10 engines. After the British Grand Prix, Bortoleto told Autosport:

"I don't think we've lost the magic of the sport," Bortoleto said. "We are still driving f**king quick through Copse. It's 280[km/h], so I'm still lifting to do that corner. It's not that easy flat, it's not that you're like, 'oh, we're not using all the grip we have'.

The debates over the 2030 technical regulations are already underway. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA President and aspiring chief administrator for life, initially wanted F1 to ditch any form of hybridization and adopt a V10 engine formula. It's important to remember F1's rulemaking power is split even between the FIA, F1's commercial rights holder and the teams. The other stakeholders shot down Ben Sulayem's fever dream, but are open to V8 engines for 2030. The drivers might not have a vote, but they will actively use their platform to shift public opinion. On the topic, Bortoleto said:

"Obviously, last year it was a different concept, but I think we should turn the page. That's the regulations we're living right now. If there are still people complaining about it, just move the page. That's the regulations we have until 2030, if I understood correctly."

"But we cannot spend three years talking about the same problem every time, you know, because that's what we have. The cars are still fun to drive. It's different. We need to adapt to that and it's life."

Fans should always take drivers' complaints about the technical regulations with a grain of salt. Four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen threatened to retire if things didn't change. He's still here. In June, F1 announced that the balance between combustion and electrical power will shift over the next two seasons. Unless they're stepping into the paddock's fastest car every weekend, every driver has a vested interest in changing the rules. Every tweak is an opportunity for their team to get a leg up on their rivals.

While the cars should have more battery capacity, it's difficult to complain about there being more passing than ever before. The complaints about "yo-yo" racing are just an excuse for a few aggressive drivers who are bad at managing their energy. Nostalgia is blinding people to the fact that every era of F1 had its constraints behind the wheel. F1's stars in the '80s had to manage fuel with their thirsty turbocharged V6 engines and their cars were less reliable.