Fernando Alonso Criticises F1 2026 Overtaking After British GP

Fernando Alonso has criticised Formula 1 overtaking after the British Grand Prix, arguing that passing moves are now too dependent on battery deployment and require less risk from the driver.

Alonso pointed to the 50:50 power output from the power units, where using battery energy can leave a driver exposed on the following straight while the system recharges. In that situation, a car that has just attacked can become vulnerable because the additional power is no longer available for defence.

That pattern was visible across the British GP weekend. In the Sprint, Kimi Antonelli passed Lewis Hamilton on the Hangar Straight to take victory, while Hamilton was also involved in a race battle with George Russell that was shaped by battery deployment.

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Hamilton used battery energy to attack around the outside into Copse. After that, he had no battery power through Maggots, Becketts, and Chapel, allowing Russell to come back at him on the run to Stowe.

For Alonso, that type of racing reduces the value of wheel-to-wheel combat because overtaking becomes more dependent on energy timing than on braking skill or taking risk around the outside of a corner.

“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,” Alonso told media including RacingNews365.

“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,” he said.

Alonso argued that the system has made passing more mechanically straightforward. “You just need to press one button, and you will overtake if you have a better power unit,” he said, in a criticism that underlined his concerns over Formula 1’s technical direction after the British Grand Prix.