Fernando Alonso has suggested modern Formula 1 machinery offers a different kind of challenge, arguing today’s cars require less pure driving risk than those from earlier eras, İdman.Biz reports.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the two-time world champion compared current hybrid cars with machines from the late 1990s and early 2000s — a period he believes placed greater emphasis on driver skill and commitment.
“It is a different time now. All this energy management obviously reduces the challenge for the driver,” Alonso said. “The cars from the end of the 1990s and early 2000s were the best from a driving point of view — light, with a recognisable sound, and you improved lap time by taking risks.”
He explained that drivers previously attacked high-speed corners almost flat out, relying on feel and confidence, whereas modern racing revolves around efficiency rather than bravery.
“Now it’s not about risk. The game is to have more energy. We use all the power on the straights, but in the corners we don’t want to spend it, so we go slower through them,” he added.
Alonso, now racing for Aston Martin, has been part of Formula 1 across three decades, making him one of the few drivers able to directly compare vastly different technical eras — from V10 engines to the current hybrid regulations.
