Author Archives: PressBox

Martin Brundle said Formula 1 has lost part of its identity at high-speed circuits because the current regulations force drivers to manage energy instead of attacking iconic corners flat out. He said drivers were lifting through sections at Spa-Francorchamps during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend to harvest battery energy, a problem he said had already affected Silverstone. Brundle said corners including Maggotts and Becketts at Silverstone, and Eau Rouge, Raidillon and the Kemmel Straight at Spa, were no longer being taken at full speed, which left him “with a tear in my eye.”

Brundle said the current rules have hurt the spectacle at high-speed tracks and should be scrapped “as soon as possible.” He said the cars still look impressive and the racing can still be entertaining, but added that the energy-management concept needs to go. He noted planned regulation changes for 2027 and 2028, and said he wants the current concept gone by 2030 or 2031. Brundle also backed FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s push to return to V8 engines on sustainable fuels, a proposal aimed at 2030 or 2031.

Other drivers, including Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen, Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris, have also complained about energy management. Brundle said recent races at Silverstone and Spa exposed the problem of yoyo-racing, with drivers forced to lift in places such as Eau Rouge and Maggotts and Becketts to recover battery energy. He said live telemetry was mostly hidden from viewers during the weekend, although the audio still revealed drivers backing off.

Oscar Piastri criticized Formula 1 stewards after Charles Leclerc was cleared over their lap-eight collision at the Belgian Grand Prix, saying the Ferrari driver should at least have received a warning or a black-and-white flag after squeezing him wide at Les Combes. The FIA ruled there was no penalty, saying Leclerc had not deliberately crowded Piastri off the track and that Piastri did not have enough overlap, or any realistic chance of completing the pass, to claim the corner.

The clash came as Piastri tried to pass Leclerc for third place on the outside as they headed into Turn 5, with the cars making slight side-to-side contact. Piastri said he was forced onto the white line and onto the kerb, and he said the impact damaged his McLaren, caused floor damage and hurt his downforce, balance and tire wear for the rest of the race. McLaren fitted him with a new nose during his pit stop, and Piastri said the contact nearly triggered a bigger crash. He said the damage was the main reason his race unraveled.

Leclerc briefly inherited the lead later under a virtual safety car before finishing second behind Kimi Antonelli. Piastri faded to fifth, saying the car’s pace dropped off in the later stints and that McLaren was stronger at the start of runs than in clean air and traffic toward the end.

Lewis Hamilton kept fourth place at the Belgian Grand Prix after stewards ruled he was not at fault for Ferrari’s unsafe pit release, with the penalty handed only to the team. Hamilton made contact with a Ferrari mechanic as he was told to leave the pit box, but he stopped immediately, checked on the crew member over radio and later said he feared he may have seriously injured him. No injury was reported. Stewards said the incident stemmed from poor communication and a late instruction to adjust the front wing, and they said it created a sporting disadvantage rather than an advantage for Hamilton.

Ferrari was fined €30,000, about £25,500, with one-third suspended for 12 months if there is no repeat offense. The team was ordered to review its pit-stop procedures and submit a full report and remedial plan to the FIA within 14 days. Ferrari said the error came from a late wing-adjustment instruction and unclear communication, and said a mechanic failed to notice the green light before stepping into the car’s path.

The incident came during Hamilton’s lap 20 stop under the virtual safety car, after he had served a five-second penalty for first-lap contact with George Russell. Hamilton left before the front-wing adjustment was finished, which meant he ran with the wrong setup for part of the stint. He later passed Oscar Piastri for fourth and finished less than two seconds ahead of him. Hamilton said the moment briefly reminded him of Kimi Raikkonen’s 2018 Bahrain pit-lane crash.