Fernando Alonso believes Formula 1 is still "too boring" despite changes to car designs to promote more exciting racing.
A huge swathe of technical regulation changes came into force this year, forcing teams into a complete redesign of their machines. And one of the major reasons behind that was the feeling that close racing was too difficult, leading to some dull races.
The older cars suffered what F1 described as "catastrophic downforce loss" whenever in the slipstream of another racer. So ground-effect aerodynamics were legalised again, which has led to cars being able to get closer without losing downforce.
Veteran Alonso, 40, admits this has worked to an extent, but still feels the sport suffers while the same people are competing at the front race after race. "Unfortunately, Formula 1 is still very predictable. It's all about Red Bull and Ferrari," the Alpine racer told Dutch outlet NOS.
"Only Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez can win. I don't know any other sport where it goes like that. The Grands Prix have become more fun and with these cars you can fight better. Still, I think it's too boring, but it's also part of F1. There will always be teams that are faster than others."
His comments came in the wake of an incredible on-track battle at the British Grand Prix, where the likes of Perez, Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton all fought tooth and nail for a spot on the podium in the final stages. Alonso was directly behind them and witnessed that fight first-hand, but still his glum attitude to racing persists.
"The final phase at Silverstone was sensational," he admitted. "But that was mainly because the safety car period ended. Suddenly I was an eyewitness and I had a view of the leaders, but there was also a downside. Halfway through the race I was sixth in no man's land. Not very exciting."
Revealing that his fun back in the sport is spoiled somewhat by the dominance of Red Bull and Ferrari, the Spaniard continued: "Of course I miss the fierce podium duels. Of course it feels great when I can excel for a while, like in Canada when I started in the front row next to Max.
"That's nice about this season. I can show things that people don't expect from me any more. That has always been my strength and it makes me proud. It's what drives me – to be a better driver than in 2021. You also race against yourself in this sport."
