Red Bull open to further F1 changes after Alonso’s battery proposal

Red Bull has signalled conditional support for further Formula 1 rule changes after Fernando Alonso proposed altering how battery power is delivered on straights. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku, team principal Laurent Mekies said Red Bull would back agreed adjustments if they allowed drivers to push fully in qualifying and races.

Alonso’s idea is to limit peak battery power for longer, so cars reach top speed closer to the end of a straight rather than midway along it. RacingNews365 Nederland reports that Max Verstappen favoured the suggestion. Mekies said he believed both drivers wanted more freedom to push.

Audi’s Mattia Binotto was more cautious. He said he did not know precisely what Alonso and Verstappen had proposed and wanted to assess changes already planned for 2027 before making further adjustments. The two also characterised those plans differently: Mekies called the 2027 step relatively small, while Binotto described the changes as substantial.

Binotto said Audi remained open to further refinements if needed, but wanted to see whether the planned changes improved drivers’ ability to push during races first.