'No talent needed' - Fernando Alonso's verdict on British GP sparks debate

Fernando Alonso has claimed that drivers need 'no talent' to compete in modern Formula 1, with 1996 champion Damon Hill sharing his concern of an 'AI takeover' in the sport.

Alonso is in the midst of a dreadful season with Aston Martin, and was out of the thick of the action for the majority of the two Silverstone races, but launched a fresh attack on the regulations after seeing drivers being able to pass and re-pass multiple times across a single lap. 

“It depends what the fans and the sport wants today," Alonso told media, including Crash.net. "You saw it in 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, and just press one button and you overtake if you have a better power unit than the car in front.”

The action at Silverstone was frantic, with battles at the front highlighting Alonso's point. This was especially evident in the sprint race, where Lando Norris, George Russell, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen engaged in a thrilling battle over the final position in the top three. 

Sharing Alonso's opinion was Hill, who suggested that F1 needs to decide what it wants from the current technology. 

"This is my concern," he wrote on Twitter. "We are on the verge of an AI takeover for humanity. We need to understand what we want for ourselves and claim it ASAP. F1 is a harbinger of the Shape of Things To Come.

Alonso explains British GP pit lane start

Ahead of the British Grand Prix, only Alex Albon was scheduled to start from the pit lane. But at the end of the formation lap, Alonso also entered the pit lane.

Although he was able to climb to 18th place by the chequered flag, this due to other retirements rather than being able to catch and pass other drivers.

“I have no answer from the formation [lap], the car shut off by itself," said Alonso. 

"So then I tried to restart the engine, and everything was fine from that moment.

“[I was just] gathering data for the team, hopefully they see something on the data that can help the development of the car, and we drive as fast we can.”