Carlos Sainz says he and fellow Formula One drivers are ‘upset’ to hear some criticise their “passion” and pins hopes on the recent fan survey to have a “very positive” impact on the future of the sport.
Over the past few seasons, there has been an increasing feeling of discrepancy in F1, with complaints ranging from the series’ dire financial situation to the new hybrid power units or the cars being too easy to drive.
“We don’t like what is happening,” said Sainz. “We don’t like that every week someone comes out and criticises Formula One. This is our passion, this is our job, and we don’t like people criticising our sport.
“We are upset about it and we are keen to change it, and also to show that F1 is still living, that it’s not easy to drive the car, that it’s not easy to do a race of 70 laps without doing mistakes.”
In order to change the current state of affairs, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) recently launched a wide-ranging survey to ask F1 fans about their opinions on the sport.
While some like 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve warns against relying too much on the supporters’ input, Toro Rosso rookie Sainz believes it can prove a useful resource to help improve the series.
“After the fan survey we did, we will have their opinions and then we’ll do our [GPDA] meeting and keep our opinions as well.
“We’ll put everything together and give a sort of a roadbook to say ‘this what the fans and drivers want to do.’ And I think this will be very positive for the sport.”
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