Lewis Hamilton offered a more nuanced read on Formula 1's controversial 2026 regulations after the Japanese Grand Prix, conceding the lift-and-coast hurts but praising the on-track racing as some of the most enjoyable in years.
While much of the Formula 1 paddock has spent the last fortnight publicly tearing into the sport's 2026 power unit regulations, Lewis Hamilton has offered a notably more measured assessment. Speaking after the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, the seven-time world champion conceded that there are clear weaknesses in how the new cars race — but he also pushed back against the narrative that the season has been a write-off.
For a category that has spent weeks being publicly criticised by its own drivers, Hamilton's reflection was an unusually balanced data point.
"Of course, there's bits that I don't love like the deployment and the lift and coast, some things that we happen to do," Hamilton said. "It's all not ideal, but racing wise, it's been really, really fun."
That distinction — between the qualifying-and-management aspects of the regulations and the actual wheel-to-wheel racing they have produced — has been almost entirely missing from the louder criticism in the paddock. Lando Norris has spoken of the format "hurting your soul" when the engine note dies mid-straight. Charles Leclerc has bemoaned the loss of full-attack qualifying laps. Max Verstappen has gone on the record with warnings about leaving the sport. Hamilton, by contrast, separated the technical irritations from the spectacle.
The Ferrari driver also kept his post-race comments grounded in his own immediate priorities. The Japanese Grand Prix was only the third round of his first championship year in red, and a podium felt like a step in the right direction rather than a turning point.
"Uh um it's a bit too close for that probably," Hamilton said when asked about championship hopes. "It's only race three and we've only just got a podium after some time trying to chase that down. So I think one step at a time and we're just going to take it bit by bit."
What his comments did make clear is that the on-track product has, at least for him, delivered. The 2026 regulations were designed to make cars easier to follow, to widen overtaking opportunities through active aerodynamics and energy deployment, and to break up the high-speed dirty-air problem that defined much of the 2022-2025 era. On Hamilton's read, that part of the brief has worked.
His assessment also implicitly puts pressure on the FIA's emergency rule fix package — the one being voted on by the World Motor Sport Council before the Miami Grand Prix. The proposed tweaks include increasing super-clipping power, reducing maximum deployment, and lowering qualifying energy recovery limits. Hamilton's framing suggests those changes need to specifically address qualifying and energy management, without dialling back the overtaking improvements that have made races worth watching.
It is also a reminder that Hamilton's voice in the regulation debate carries weight beyond his current grid position. He raced through three sets of major regulation changes at Mercedes — 2014, 2017 and 2022 — and is the only driver on the current grid who has won championships under multiple eras. When he separates good racing from broken qualifying, the FIA's technical group is more likely to listen.
Ferrari continues to have its own performance worries, with Hamilton acknowledging at Suzuka that McLaren and Mercedes have stretched ahead. But the lift-and-coast verdict was about the sport, not the team. And on the sport, Hamilton's bottom line was simple — the deployment irritations are real, but the racing they have produced has been some of the most enjoyable he has been part of in years.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/hamilton-2026-f1-regulations-lift-coast-deployment-racing-fun-suzuka). Visit for full coverage.*