Brundle urges F1 to scrap energy management by 2030
NXTbets Pro | Published On: July 20, 2026
Brundle on Formula 1
Martin Brundle says Formula 1 has lost part of what made it special under the current rules, and he wants the sport to move away from extreme energy management as soon as possible. The former driver and broadcaster argued that the regulations have stripped away part of Formula 1’s identity at high-speed tracks, where the cars used to be driven flat out through the fastest corners. His view was direct. The current package, he said, has changed the feel of the sport and taken away something that used to define it. Brundle said the answer is not to keep adjusting around the edges. He said the sport needs to scrap the present approach and push toward a cleaner solution that restores the kind of racing fans and drivers expect at the quickest venues. He also said the issue is not a small technical detail. It has reached the point where Formula 1 has lost something meaningful in the way the cars are driven and in the way the championship looks at its best.
Spa and Silverstone
Brundle pointed to the Belgian Grand Prix weekend at Spa-Francorchamps as the clearest example. He said drivers were lifting through the high-speed sections to harvest battery energy, a move that underlined how far the sport has shifted from the old flat-out style. He said the same energy-management problem had already affected Silverstone, where another iconic high-speed circuit has felt the impact of the current rules. In his view, the loss of flat-out cornering at both Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone was emotional, because those are the places where Formula 1 has traditionally shown its full speed and commitment. Brundle also said recent races at both tracks exposed the problems of yoyo-racing and energy management, with cars backing off and then pushing again instead of running at maximum attack through the fast sections. He added that live telemetry was mostly hidden from viewers during the weekend, although the audio still made the situation clear because it showed drivers backing off. That combination, he said, left the impression of a sport that is no longer letting its fastest circuits speak for themselves. The effect, in his view, goes beyond strategy. It changes how the racing feels from the cockpit and from the grandstands, and it changes how the sport presents itself when it reaches the high-speed corners that built its reputation.
V8s and regulation changes
Brundle also linked his criticism to Formula 1’s future engine direction, backing Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s push to return to V8 engines on sustainable fuels. That proposal is aimed at 2030 or 2031, and Brundle treated it as part of a wider reset rather than a separate debate. He said the energy-management concept should be gone by 2030 or 2031, which puts his thinking in step with the broader discussion around the next engine era. A return to V8 engines is already being discussed for 2030, and Brundle said the sport should be thinking in that direction if it wants to restore a more natural racing product. He also noted that Formula 1 has planned regulation changes for 2027 and 2028, but he made clear that he believes the sport should not wait too long to move on from the current setup. His message was simple. Formula 1 should keep the energy-management element from defining the next phase of the championship, and it should use the coming rule cycle to bring back the kind of high-speed racing that once made places like Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone feel different from everywhere else.
