Indycar team owner and US racing hero Michael Andretti slammed Formula 1 for its spiraling costs and destructive regulations, claiming the sport was "a mess right now".
Speaking to Top Gear ahead of the upcoming season of his Formula E team, the son of motor racing legend and 1978 World Champion Mario Andretti voiced his concerns regarding Formula 1's current state of affairs.
“They made a mistake allowing engineers to come up with all the rules and everything. I mean, it’s still the biggest racing sport in the world, and it has a huge following, but they need to make some changes.”
In the midst of an existential crisis, Formula 1's current shape and format has indeed been called into question by both its constituents and fan base, as its seeks to revive its past lustre and define its future.
Andretti believes Grand Prix racing should focus on returning to its basic foundation of providing entertainment and excitement by making cars more difficult to drive while also winding down costs.
“They need to go back to the rules,” the American said. “They’ve made these things way too expensive. With this new engine, they’ve basically doubled the leases for what it costs customer teams to run these things. It’s stupid money, and for what?
“Then of course you continually hear the complaints of the cars being too quiet, and that they’re too easy to drive. They need to change the rules, get it back to where a F1 car is hard to drive, and it’s faster than anything out there.”
In spite of his impressive pedigree, Michael Andretti's own tenure in F1, with McLaren in 1993, was short-lived and marked by bad timing and some faulty decisions which sealed his fate.
While on the subject of F1, the American reflected on his former team's current fate, believing that McLaren will eventually bounce back along with its engine partner Honda, which also powers Andretti's Indycar squad.
“I think Honda is putting in a big effort and I would never count them out,” Andretti said. “They’re our partners in IndyCar and they’re very aggressive and don’t like losing. I assume they’ll turn it around.”
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