Racing
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Martin Brundle says Formula 1’s 2026 regulations are stripping iconic high-speed circuits of their defining challenge, and he believes the sport should abandon the current concept at the next major rules reset.
Speaking on Sky Sports F1 ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, the former F1 driver and commentator said recent trips to Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps had exposed the same problem. “I think we’re all still struggling to understand it, to be honest,” Brundle said. “I've got a bit of a tear in my eye, because we've lost all the great corners at Silverstone and here we are at Spa with the same situation. These new regulations hurt us on the high-speed circuits.”
His criticism centered on the 2026 cars’ reliance on energy harvesting and deployment. With battery energy depleting through a lap, drivers have been forced to lift in sections that were previously taken flat-out, changing the character of corners such as Silverstone’s Maggots and Becketts and Spa’s Eau Rouge-Raidillon sequence before the Kemmel Straight. The summaries report that speeds through those areas are nowhere near what they were even last season.
Brundle argued that the issue is not just about lap time, but the kind of racing the cars are producing. He said Silverstone and Spa have featured “yoyo-racing” and “superclipping,” with overtakes driven largely by differences in battery usage. Cars pass when one has deployment available, then lose the position again when that balance swings back, rather than drivers attacking through the circuits’ signature high-speed sections.
Formula 1 and the FIA have already moved to reduce that electrical dependence. Changes ratified by the World Motor Sport Council will shift the power split to 58% internal combustion and 42% electric in 2027, then to 60/40 in 2028, with the aim of easing the battery drain that is shaping how the cars are driven.
Brundle does not see those revisions as enough. “We're doing something about it for '27 and '28 and we have to get rid of this concept as soon as possible, in 2030 or 2031,” he said. He added that the cars still make an impression from trackside: “When I'm out on track on a Friday, wow, they look fast. And when they're side by side and ducking and diving, it looks a lot of fun to watch. But, for now, they've got to get on top of the complexities, and there are a lot of them.”
That leaves F1 trying to soften the weaknesses of the 2026 package in the short term, while facing a broader question over whether a regulation set that changes the nature of Silverstone and Spa can remain the long-term direction of the series.