Be patient with F1 revamp: Prost
GIVE it time. That’s the message from former four-time champion Alain Prost to critics of the myriad changes introduced to Formula One racing this season.
The driver known as The Professor was in South Africa this week to participate in the Cape Epic mountain bike endurance race for the third time. His ride came to an end on Thursday when a persistent back problem forced the 59year-old to withdraw.
“It was getting worse every day and I didn’t want to hurt myself,” he said. “This race is always very hard.”
Prost raced in motor sport’s premier class during the 1980s, the last time the muchcriticised turbo engines were used in Formula One.
He says racing fans need time to adapt to the modifications that saw several driver retirements and complaints about the lack of noise at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix earlier this month.
“In a few races the problems will disappear. These new regulations are exceptional, particularly the turbo option. It is good to have change.”
Although he retired in 1993 after a 14-year career as a driver, Prost remained involved in Formula One, buying the Ligier team in 1997 and renaming it Prost Grand Prix.
The team folded in 2002, but Prost has remained an integral and respected figure in the paddock, sometimes serving as a driver representative on the stewards panel.
Since 2012 he has been an international ambassador for Renault, one of the engine manufacturers to have struggled most with the changes this year.
“F1 needs to move closer to the motor industry,” he says. “It is exceptional technology that has allowed the cars to produce similar power using 40% less fuel.”
One effect of the changes by the sport’s governing body, the FIA, is that driver skill should come more to the fore.
Judging by the results in Melbourne, the current crop is not coping very well.
“For me, we just had to get used to the turbos in the 1980s. After a few races I’m sure we will see them adapt. We can only see after a few more races.”
One of the biggest complaints about the race at Albert Park was the quietness of the new engines, prompting spec- ulation that more changes might be introduced to bring back F1’s full-blooded roar. Again, Prost is sanguine. “People go to the race-track wearing earplugs. But when they hear it through the TV they say it is not enough, something is missing.”
In May the sport will mark the 20th anniversary of the death of Prost’s great rival Ayrton Senna in a crash at Imola.
“I have been invited to 40 or 50 events [to commemorate Senna’s death]. I am going to participate in some, but haven’t yet decided which ones,” says Prost. The Malaysian Grand Prix will be live today on SS6 (9.45am).