Martin Brundle believes the FIA have to act quickly after Lando Norris admit he did not want to overtake Lewis Hamilton, but had to due to his battery being stronger. The defending champion said: “I didn’t even want to overtake Lewis, it’s just about the battery deploys, and I don’t want it to deploy, but I can’t control it. So I overtake him, and then I have no battery, so he just flies past.”
In response, Brundle admitted he is concerned by the current regulations which have been pulled apart by drivers and critics alike. The Sky Sports pundit said: “One thing that really worried me was Lando Norris sang, ‘I didn’t want to overtake Lewis Hamilton, but my battery decided it did, and then I had nothing to defend with’.
“Now, there’s a regulation in Formula 1. It’s been around forever. It’s very simple and far reaching. The driver must drive the car alone and unaided.
“The driver shouldn’t have any surprises by a self-learning car. They’ve got to get rid of that. I’m sure it’s not the work of a moment, but the power delivery must be proportional to what the driver is doing with the throttle. That’s a fundamental. It has to be linear.
“It’s a big issue for the FIA. Driver safety is sacrosanct, of course. But I think they’re actually fourth in line in terms of priorities. The top priority is the fans, because they’re paying to be there. They haven’t bought into any element of risk, and they have to be protected.
“Next up is the marshals, the corner workers, because they’re not being paid to be there, but they assume an element of risk because they’re trackside.
“Next up, for me, the pit-stop crew, in terms of priorities. And finally, the drivers. The cars are pretty safe. Everybody’s health and safety is sacrosanct.
“But the FIA will now have to make a change for Miami, because the drivers have voiced this. It’s very much out there. I would be pretty certain they’ve put that in writing through the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association as well.
“So if a car flies into the crowd now and they haven’t done something, shown some due diligence on this, then the FIA will be in for the high jump. So they will now have to do something and listen to the drivers.
“But we’re hamstrung. We’ve got a motor that churns out three times its electrical power compared to last year, and the battery depletes in any given decent straight.
“But we’re hamstrung. We’ve got a motor that churns out three times its electrical power compared to last year, and the battery depletes in any given decent straight. So we’re painted in a corner. We’re between a rock and a hard place, really, on this, because the hardware is just not up to it.
“And we’ve talked about this for a couple to three years now. We knew it was going to be like this. So this is fundamentally flawed, but I think they should be able to smooth some of these elements out.”