Brundle warns FIA must act after Norris ‘uncontrolled’ overtake claim on Hamilton

Martin Brundle has raised alarm bells over Formula 1’s 2026 rules after Lando Norris claimed his car overtook Lewis Hamilton without his input.

Stressing that it is “fundamental” that battery deployment and what the driver demands from the throttle match, Brundle urges that the FIA must come up with solutions. Oliver Bearman’s high-speed crash was the principal incident generating debate around the rules among drivers. Formula 1 and the FIA will meet for discussions during April.

Martin Brundle warns FIA must act after Lando Norris battery overtake

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Three rounds into Formula 1’s new era, the prominent role played by battery harvesting and deployment continues to serve as a key talking point, and concern for various drivers, including Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz.

Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, issued a statement at Suzuka, spelling out its plans to evaluate the regulations over April, after Haas’ Oliver Bearman crashed out heavily at Spoon during the race. Bearman had closed in rapidly on a slower-moving Franco Colapinto in the Alpine.

But rather than this incident, it was something else that “really worried” Brundle, the former F1 driver turned Sky F1 pundit, was Norris commenting that he had unwillingly overtaken Hamilton’s Ferrari.

“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.”

With a section of the drivers having put concerns over F1 2026 into the public domain, Brundle says that the FIA must ensure change for the season resumption in Miami.

Speaking on Sky F1’s ‘The F1 Show’ podcast, Brundle 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. 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.”

More on F1 2026 from PlanetF1.com

FIA issues statement on 2026 rules after Oliver Bearman crash concerns

Max Verstappen’s inspired solution to force F1 2026 rule changes

But, while the new rules have not impressed all drivers, Brundle says that the majority of fans who he has spoken to, are very much enjoying the close racing which is being produced.

An interesting reveal, considering that Brundle placed the fans as priority number one.

“Fans I’ve met, I take a lot of trouble at the moment to say, ‘Who do you support? Are you enjoying F1 this season?’

“It’s a Marty poll, and nothing more, of random people I meet, or friends and family, and they say, ‘Yeah, we’re enjoying it. We’re enjoying this close racing’.

“That’s the feedback I’m getting.”

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