Fernando Alonso remains tangled in a solution to fix Formula 1. The Spanish driver has already made clear that his continuation or retirement depends on this, and he has also said that he regards it as a personal duty to improve Formula 1 before his farewell. Now he has a new idea: that the cars should be less powerful.
The Asturian driver spoke at the press conference ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, saying that the ideal would be to reduce the battery power so that it does not deliver energy at the start of the straight, and thus the car would not lose top speed as the meters pass. A Alonso has found an ally: Max Verstappen agrees.
Alonso proposes limiting energy delivery to avoid losing top speed on the straight
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, president of the FIA, said he would listen to Fernando Alonso’s requests to improve Formula 1 and prevent his retirement. Well, those requests have arrived in Baku, and they were spoken loud and clear. Alonso has come up with an idea to fix Formula 1: reduce the battery power.
Or, better yet, to extend the energy delivery over time. Alonso explained that “now we have a very rapid acceleration and then it starts to drop off. You attack the corner in a strange way, lifting off during the last 200 meters”. A phenomenon called clipping, and it is horrible for drivers and spectators.
Alonso proposes that “c“on less power for longer, you’ll reach the corner at your maximum speed, instead of reaching it halfway down the straight”. In other words, the Formula 1 cars would not deliver all the electrical power at the start, but would be electronically limited so as not to release all the energy until halfway down the straight.
It is not unrealistic. It would not imply a major change. It would be enough to adjust some parameters of the batteries and the electronics. Then, what prevents Alonso’s idea from being carried out? There are two reasons. The first, that some teams like Mercedes could lose part of their advantage. The second, that the cars would be much slower per lap.
One of Formula 1’s greatest fears has always been to be slower than Formula 2, and this change would leave them on the edge at some circuits. Moreover, Mercedes will not want to give up their advantage. But Alonso has found a powerful ally. His name is Max Verstappen, and he has said that “I agree with basically everything Fernando says”.
The ball is in the FIA’s and Ben Sulayem’s court. If they want Alonso, and Honda, to remain in Formula 1, the requests are clear.
Images | Formula 1, Aston Martin, Red Bull
