Lewis Hamilton called Formula 1’s latest generation of cars among the least enjoyable to drive around Monaco.
However pole-winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli said the nature of the Monte-Carlo circuit masked some of the drawbacks of the 2026 machines.
Hamilton, who is in his 20th season as an F1 driver, was asked by the FIA’s press conference moderator: “How much did you enjoy driving the 2026 car today?”
“I think probably one of my least favourites of all the generations I’ve driven around here,” Hamilton replied.
He said the reduction in grip caused by the cut in downforce and high minimum tyre pressures imposed by Pirelli made the cars less enjoyable to drive than those from earlier in his career.
“It’s just the super-light downforce,” he said. “It really is like a step down of generation of car, grip-wise.
“Our [tyre] pressures are super high. Even though we have a hundred points or so less downforce this year, we have much higher [pressures].”
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The minimum starting pressures for slick tyres this weekend are 24psi at the front and 23psi at the rear. These values are typically lower in Monaco, the slowest track on the calendar, than they are at other venues.
“Back in the day, we used to run like 16psi and now we’re up at 28 or 26 or something crazy. Maybe here it’s like 24, so very high.
“Ultimate mechanical grip is not what it used to be. I remember when I was here in 2007, 2008, there was so much more grip. It was even more fun back then.
“It wasn’t terrible [today]. I still had fun, but comparing all the generations, maybe 2020 was probably the best period for us, grip-wise.”
However Max Verstappen believes the changes to the rules this year, including the removal of the arches over the front wheels, has made them better to drive in Monaco.
“I think the chassis regulation is not that bad at all,” he said. “In general, the cars being a little bit more narrow and stuff, I think it’s alright.
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“Also, I quite like now the vision on the front axle is a bit better around apexes again, instead of that thing we had above the tyre before. So that’s good.”
The shorter track length also means drivers can run flat-out more easily than at other circuits, Verstappen added. “Of course, if you can go flat-out and you can just select the gears that you want to use in the corners, it’s always going to be better.
“So, I finally felt just myself again in the car, let’s say it like that, with the way you want to use the gears.
“Unfortunately, of course, we can’t do that in too many places on the calendar. But that’s what makes it more and more natural to drive.”
Antonelli said he appreciated not having to think about energy saving strategies in qualifying for a change. “Even though our [power unit] is great, today was the first qualifying [session] where on the out-lap I didn’t have to manage the battery or look at the steering wheel to manage the power. Just the combustion, to maximise combustion and not use any battery opening the lap.
“So, it was a qualifying [session] where you were just thinking about driving and going as fast as you can.”
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