Fernando Alonso endured yet another unlucky and grueling weekend at Silverstone during the 2026 F1 British GP.
The Spanish driver experienced a sudden and unexplained shutdown of his car right before the race started, which led him to start from the pit lane. He climbed to 18th place by the end of the race. However, his final position was largely aided by 3 drivers retiring rather than actual on-track overtakes.
Starting from the pit lane at the 2026 F1 British GP
The Spaniard said that the team still hasn’t figured out what caused the car to power off and then return to normal.
“I have no answer for the formation lap. The car shut off by itself. Then I tried to restart the engine, and everything was fine from that moment.
“We need to learn what happened there.
“[I was just] gathering data for the team. Hopefully, they see something on the data that can help the development of the car. And yes, we keep driving as fast as we can.“
No talent needed, no risks taken
Alonso claimed that the 2026 technical regulations have stripped modern Formula 1 of the need for exceptional driving talent. According to the veteran, the days of executing high-risk overtakes, the very maneuvers that thrilled drivers, are gone.
This shift was highly evident at Silverstone, 2026 F1 British GP. On a circuit famous for its high-speed straights and sweeping corners, overtaking mostly boiled down to battery levels.
As Alonso highlighted, rather than relying on racecraft, a driver now simply presses a button, letting the better battery deployment do the work to blast past the competition.
“It depends what the fans and the sport wants. Today I didn’t see the race. Yesterday I saw a little bit of a replay of the Sprint.
“People overtaking in the middle of the straight with more battery. So there is not any driver input or driver talent needed to overtake a car in front of you.
“You don’t need to outbrake anyone. You don’t need to overtake on the outside. You don’t need to take any risk.
“You just press one button and you overtake if you have a better power unit than the car in front.“
No concerns about Aston Martin’s future plans
Despite a very draining season so far and unresolved car issues, Alonso trusts his team’s performance and future development plans. The Spanish driver hopes to see at least some progress in the second half of the season.
“We were updated already. He was coming to Australia. We’ve been to the factory a few times for simulator.
“We’ve been always updated about the plans of the team and the performance. I think we are relaxed about this.
“We are just working together to see, hopefully, some improvements in the second part of the year.”
