Lewis Hamilton described Formula 1’s latest generation of cars as among the least enjoyable he has driven at Monaco.
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Hamilton, who is now in his 20th season in F1, was asked by the FIA press conference moderator how much he enjoyed driving the 2026 car around Monte‑Carlo.
“I think probably one of my least favourites of all the generations I’ve driven around here,” Hamilton replied.
He explained that the lower downforce and the higher minimum tyre pressures mandated by Pirelli have reduced grip and made the cars less satisfying to drive than previous generations.
“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. Those figures are typically lower at Monaco — the slowest track on the calendar — than at many 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,” Hamilton continued. “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.”
By contrast, Max Verstappen welcomed some of the changes introduced in 2026, saying the cars feel better to drive around Monaco now that the arches above the front wheels have gone.
“I think the chassis regulation is not that bad at all,” Verstappen said. “In general, the cars being a little bit more narrow and stuff, I think it’s alright. 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.”
He added that Monaco’s short, tight layout allows drivers to run flat‑out more often than at other circuits, making the car feel more natural to drive.
“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.”
Pole‑sitter Andrea Kimi Antonelli noted another benefit of recent rule changes: qualifying laps felt more straightforward because he didn’t need to manage hybrid energy on the out‑lap.
“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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