“Open-minded, creative” approach needed for 2026 F1 cars, says Mercedes star

Mercedes young gun Andrea Kimi Antonelli says drivers will have to be “open-minded” and “creative” when racing with the new-for-2026 Formula 1 cars.

The 2026 rules reset has brought with it a number of questions about how the quirks of the new cars will impact racing.

After the Barcelona shakedown last week, many drivers have found some of their fears about the new regulations to have disappeared, though fresh concerns have been raised about things such as energy management in qualifying and more complicated track battles.

Reigning world champion Lando Norris admitted earlier this week that racing in 2026 will be “chaos” for the drivers, particularly with how they manage battery power on the new engines.

Mercedes sophomore Andrea Kimi Antonelli says this will be “like chess”, requiring an “open-minded” approach to races.

“With all this energy management, the way you have to race, that is a very big step,” he said during a Mercedes media event earlier this week.

“And I think this year you have to come into this season very open-minded and in some ways be very creative as well, because you can play so much with the energy, especially when fighting with others, it’s kind of like chess.

“But chess at speed, you won’t have much time to think about moves.

“But this year you will always have to be two steps ahead of the others, especially when fighting, when you are planning an overtake or defending: you always have to be two steps ahead of the other, try to predict them or force them to do something.

“So, there’s a lot to play with. And this is why I think this season you have to be open-minded and even creative at times.”

2026 offers quick adaptation opportunity for young drivers

Kimi Antonelli has gone from Formula 4, to Formula Regional to Formula 2 and F1 machinery since 2022, as he enters his second season in grand prix cars.

Because of this, he believes he - as well as other young drivers - stand a good chance of a quicker adaptation to the new rules because they’ve had no time to adjust the previous cars.

“I think definitely for all the rookies who joined F1 last year, coming into this year with a new car is good, because we’ve been used to driving a different car every year,” he added.

“So, we’ve been used to adapting as quickly as possible to a new car.

“So, of course, on that side, it’s good that we have a new car this year because it’s a reset for everyone, especially for us, where we’ve been used to a new car every year.

“Maybe, it will help us how to understand the car a bit quicker than the others.

“But, the other guys are not stupid, so I think they will figure it out very quickly as well.”