Martin Brundle has ‘a tear in my eye’ on live Sky F1 broadcast | F1 | Sport
Martin Brundle admitted he has been left with “a bit of a tear in my eye” after seeing some of Spa-Francorchamps’ iconic and challenging corners rendered largely irrelevant by this year’s Formula 1 cars and regulations. Like at Silverstone two weeks earlier, engine deployment has changed the spectacle at the much-loved Belgian Grand Prix circuit.
Both historic circuits feature world-famous high-speed sections through which fans love to see F1 cars fly. And drivers also adore the challenge presented by such corners, like the Maggotts and Becketts section at Silverstone and the fast complex at Spa which begins with Eau Rouge and Raidillon before heading along the famous Kemmel Straight.
But drivers were complaining at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago about how it is much easier now to negotiate those high-speed sections, because the batteries on their cars are running out of energy and so the speed at which they are travelling through those corners is nowhere near what it was even as recently as last season.
And the same has been true at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, making what is usually a highly-respected and feared circuit a relative doddle for drivers. Former F1 racer and veteran broadcaster Brundle lamented the situation as he made it clear he cannot wait to see the back of this regulations cycle.
Speaking on the live Sky Sports F1 broadcast ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix, Brundle said: “I think we’re all still struggling to understand it, to be honest. 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.
“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. That aside, this is what we’ve got and, 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.”
Those upcoming changes Brundle referred to were ratified by the World Motor Sport Council in June. Over the next two years, the engines will shift away from the roughly 50/50 split between combustion and electrical power to something closer to 60/40 in favour of the ICE and sustainable fuel, creating less reliance on the battery.
That should mitigate some of the power loss the cars are experiencing during a lap as the battery will not be drained so quickly. That said, it is seen by many as little more than a stop-gap solution until more widepsread changes can be made, but that is unlikely to happen until the end of this regulations cycle, which could be in 2030 or 2031, as also alluded to by Brundle.
