Former F1 driver Gerhard Berger says the sport needs to make changes to keep fans interested.
The Austrian believes F1 has become too predictable and processional, putting it at risk of losing viewers.
Berger raced in the series for 14 years, driving for the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Benetton. He won 10 races and competed in F1 for the last time at the 1997 European Grand Prix.
Speaking to the Salzburg Nachrichten newspaper, Berger criticised modern F1 for being predictable and placing less stress on driver skill.
"Fans want to see more fighting on track and more action," he said. "Back in my time, an F1 car was like a loose cannon. We had 1,400bhp and didn’t have so many driver aids. But today it’s clear after the first corner who will win the race.
"You have to go back to a system where the driver is the key to success in F1. There should only be four or five drivers who are able to pull it off. You have to make this change in order to keep fans watching the races."
Commenting on reliability and driver mistakes, he added: "Nowadays every car makes it to the finish line, there are no surprises anymore. Back in the days you couldn’t be sure until the end. Even on the last lap of the race, you couldn’t be sure.
"And driver errors were punished severely. But today, all suspense is gone right after the start. You have huge asphalt run-off areas, where with a little bit of luck you don’t even lose a position when you go off."
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Berger raced in the series for 14 years, driving for the likes of McLaren, Ferrari and Benetton. He won 10 races and competed in F1 for the last time at the 1997 European Grand Prix.
Speaking to the Salzburg Nachrichten newspaper, Berger criticised modern F1 for being predictable and placing less stress on driver skill.
"Fans want to see more fighting on track and more action," he said. "Back in my time, an F1 car was like a loose cannon. We had 1,400bhp and didn’t have so many driver aids. But today it’s clear after the first corner who will win the race.
"You have to go back to a system where the driver is the key to success in F1. There should only be four or five drivers who are able to pull it off. You have to make this change in order to keep fans watching the races."
Commenting on reliability and driver mistakes, he added: "Nowadays every car makes it to the finish line, there are no surprises anymore. Back in the days you couldn’t be sure until the end. Even on the last lap of the race, you couldn’t be sure.
"And driver errors were punished severely. But today, all suspense is gone right after the start. You have huge asphalt run-off areas, where with a little bit of luck you don’t even lose a position when you go off."
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