Top Gear’s Stig Slams F1 CEO For Defending 2026 Regulations: “Incomparable To The Tragedy Unfolding”
Ben Collins, a professional racing and stunt driver, best known for his former role as Top Gear’s famous tame racing driver, the Stig, has called out the Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, for comparing the lift and coast to harvest energy in today’s F1 to the F1 of the ’80s, when drivers had to lift off to save fuel. Collins stated that the ’80s era of F1 is “incomparable to the tragedy unfolding” today. F1’s new regulations came into effect this year, in which cars are powered equally by an internal combustion engine and energy derived from batteries.
That means drivers have to manage electric power during races, requiring them to deploy during overtakes and harvest when the charge is low. To harvest energy, drivers need to lift off and depend on super clipping, requiring them to decelerate in areas where they would have otherwise driven flat out. With just three races done so far, several teams have been struggling with their cars, such as Williams, Red Bull, and Aston Martin, given the complexities of the new regulations.
Drivers have spoken against the new form of racing, since it requires them to decelerate during a race, only to charge their batteries for a momentary boost. Not to mention the safety concerns drivers raised after Ollie Bearman’s 50G crash during the Japanese Grand Prix. F1 and its governing body, the FIA, have been discussing a way to overcome this challenge in multiple meetings.
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He also compared lifting off to harvest energy to the lift-off and coast drivers practiced during the late eighties due to strict fuel capacity limits. Drivers back in 1986 had more than 1400 hp at their disposal from thirsty engines in qualifying, considered the most powerful in F1 history. Speaking to Autosport in an interview, Domenicali said: “Overtaking some people are saying is artificial, what is artificial?