Felipe Massa criticized the 2026 Formula 1 cars and supported recent statements from drivers about the current regulations. The former F1 driver, who currently races in Stock Car in Brazil, stated that the category has moved away from what fans expect to see on the tracks.
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The Brazilian joined other names who expressed dissatisfaction with the new rules. Among them is Max Verstappen, who compared current races to a video game and stated that the dynamic does not represent real racing.
Massa agreed with the four-time champion’s view and emphasized that drivers should be at the limit most of the time: “First of all, we need to understand that in Formula 1, drivers have to drive at the limit most of the time, both in qualifying sessions and in races. That’s what people want to see,” he stated.
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The former F1 driver also criticized the current complexity of the cars, suggesting that drivers have taken on a different role: “What is happening now is that, in a way, you need to be more of an engineer than a driver. That’s not right,” he added.
Massa also pointed to the performance difference between teams as another problem with the current generation of cars. According to him, while last season the difference between cars was about one second, now there are cases with up to five seconds of distance, something he classified as ‘terrible’ and far from what the public expects from Formula 1.
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