Fernando Alonso has voiced frustration with the current state of overtaking in Formula 1, believing battery deployment, rather than driver skill, now decides most on-track action.
The two-time World Champion’s comments follow a British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone that produced several battery-assisted overtakes, most notably during Saturday’s Sprint Race and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Under the current power unit regulations, energy deployment is a near 50:50 split, meaning that a driver who uses their battery boost on one straight is left with significantly reduced power on the next while the system recharges.
The pattern was clear across the Silverstone weekend, with Kimi Antonelli surging past Lewis Hamilton during Saturday’s Sprint to snatch victory, while Hamilton himself was involved in a tit-for-tat battle with George Russell in Sunday’s race.
Hamilton used his battery to pass around the outside at Copse, only to find himself without power through Maggots, Becketts and Chapel — allowing Russell to retake the position on the run down to Stowe.
For Alonso, this dynamic has diluted the artistry of overtaking. Speaking to media, including Motorsport Week, the Spaniard argued that passing moves no longer demand the bravery or precision once associated with them, since a driver with a stronger power unit can simply deploy their battery mid-straight to complete the move.
“I saw a bit of the race, and a bit of the Sprint and people overtaking in the middle of the straight with more battery,” he said.
“So there is not any driver input, or driver talent needed to overtake a car in front of you.
“You don’t need to out-brake anyone, you don’t need to overtake on the outside, you don’t need to take any risk.
“You just need to press one button, and you will overtake if you have a better power unit.”
The remarks from Alonso further ongoing criticism of the new regulations, which began at the start of the year.
With next year heralding the beginning of the split balancing more towards combustion power again, many will be hoping it will be the precursor to a planned return to fully combustion engines for the next regulations cycle.
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