Alonso: No other sport ‘so worried’ about image

Fernando Alonso believes Formula 1 should be “proud” of its reputation and says no other sport is so worried about how to “improve the show.”

Formula 1 introduced its Sprint trial at Silverstone, and repeated the mini-race at Monza on Saturday, and will undertake a third evaluation at Interlagos.

The concept is set to be assessed at the end of 2021 and refined for 2022.

Formula 1 chiefs have regularly discussed potential ways of amending the format, including tweaking how the grid is formed, in the wake of the much-derided elimination qualifying that lasted just two rounds in 2016.

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But Alonso believes that Formula 1 should not become too preoccupied over its format.

“I think Formula 1 is always pursuing an improvement that sometimes this is not needed, in a way,” he said.

“I don’t see any other sport being so worried about making or improving the show.

“I see football, which normally is the king of sports, and there are so many games that are so boring. And the following week there is not any drama, there is not any change.

“There are no suggestions how to change the game to make the goal bigger, to play without a goalkeeper to improve the show. There are no dramas.

“The sport is at it is and Formula 1 should be happy and proud as a show because it is a very big thing.”

Alonso, though, reckons that if Formula 1 still wishes to experiment with its format there are other mechanisms in order to provoke greater unpredictability.

“Because we want to improve, my feeling is that the Friday is what is maybe dictating the rest of the weekend, because the qualifying is made by the car performance and not by the driver input,” he said.

“When you have only one set of tyres or one attempt, okay the car is the most important thing but the driver has to deliver in that minute and a half.

“When you have one hour and six sets of tyres, you make one mistake, you make two mistakes but then you put another set of tyres, and again you finish in the position you deserve, or the car deserves.

“So I think we should really add some difficulty to the Friday, maybe even only one attempt not six.

“The reverse grid [idea] I would take it because I am in a slow car but I don’t think it is fair, and I don’t think F1 should make that revolution either.”