Jeremy Clarkson calls out new F1 rule he's struggling with after Australian GP

Former Top Gear host and avid Formula 1 fan Jeremy Clarkson has made his feelings clear on the sport's new regulations after watching the Australian Grand Prix.

On Sunday, it was a Mercedes domination around Albert Park as George Russell won the Australian Grand Prix ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari star Charles Leclerc.

Russell, 28, took the chequered flag more than 2.9 seconds ahead of Antonelli, with Leclerc crossing the finish line 15.519 seconds after the Brit.

Heading into the race weekend, the big talking point was the sport's new technical regulations, which were introduced by the FIA in a bid to promote better on-track battles.

However, taking to social media, ex-The Grand Tour host and F1 fan Clarkson stated that he was struggling to get to grips with the new rules.

The 65-year-old claimed that he had a hard time familiarising himself with the new regulations and found it difficult to hear the likes of Martin Brundle and Bernie Collins.

Clarkson wrote on X: "I’m slightly struggling with the new F1 rules. Mainly because the sound mix was so bad, it was hard to hear what Martin and Bernie were saying."

George Russell won the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. Image: Getty

Last month, Clarkson spotted issues with the new regulations when writing his column for The Sun.

He explained: "Half the power now comes from batteries that must be recharged every lap. The cars are smaller too and have narrower tyres, which means less grip. And there’s no DRS on the rear wing.

"On paper, it all sounds very skiddy and exciting, but after three days of testing in Bahrain this week, it’s clear that there are some issues. At tracks such as Monza and China, the cars will run out of electrical power before they reach the end of the straight."

Clarkson added: "Which will cause them to suddenly and dramatically slow down. That is going to be a problem for the car behind. On the start line, they need to be at full revs for ten seconds for the turbocharger to wake up or the car will stall when the race begins."

The 2026 F1 season continues next weekend with the Chinese Grand Prix, which will be the first Sprint event of the year.