Alain Prost has backed Lewis Hamilton in worrying about F1's plans for the future. With the sport acknowledging the need to speed up, world champion Hamilton nonetheless blasted an apparent plan to slash laptimes simply by adding downforce to the cars.
"That's the worst idea and just shows people don't know what they are trying to solve," said the Briton, who thinks the biggest problem with F1 is how difficult it is to follow and pass a rival. And F1 legend and quadruple world champion Prost, to be involved with the new Renault works team for 2016, has obviously heard similar plans about 2017 and beyond.
When asked by the German newspaper Bild about the regulations of today, the 60-year-old admitted: "The show could be better. There are a few things I would change. I would like to see the cars with more power and more mechanical grip. The tyres should be wide and the aerodynamics not playing a major role. Actually, the exact opposite of what they are planning now!" the famous Frenchman laughed.
Asked what else should change, Prost continued: "The driver should not get as much help as he is, so the communication with the pits should be restricted. The big problem with formula one is that they are messing about with certain issues (rules), when actually the whole thing should be dealt with as a whole." (GMM)
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Replies (4)
Login to replyJames Raven
Posts: 2,424
Agreed. Budget cap and aerodynamic limitations will be key.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I disagree with him about the aero, as it stands today it doesnt play a major role anyway, while engine supply do. Power will be fixed, this is the second year with the hybrid-formula and Mercedes already say that they could reach 1K HP, so let them do their's and see how it works out. But budgets needs to be capped, and I honestly think its a good idea that they're going to ban wind tunnels, as that was a major cost for smaller teams. Today's CAD is very advanced, so if used right aero-development should be no real problem anyway.
Pompey
Posts: 84
If one car cannot pass another all we have is a procession of technology and not a race.
khasmir
Posts: 893
Too much aero is definitely a problem. Limiting the development will also reduce costs.
Impose strict rules how the wings should be constructed, limit the number of elements and winglets and so on.