Fernando Alonso believes Formula 1 is still ‘too boring’ and ‘predictable’ despite new regulations

The two-time world champion insists this season is ‘all about Red Bull and Ferrari’ as Alpine struggle to keep pace with the top teams

(AFP via Getty Images)

Fernando Alonso says Formula 1 is still “too boring” and “predictable” this season despite the new regulations for 2022 designed to improve racing.

The two-time world champion returned to the sport in 2021 with Alpine after a two-year absence and has made it known that this year’s new regulations - designed to enhance wheel-to-wheel racing across the field - is what is keeping him in the cockpit.

Yet Alonso, who turns 41 later this month, has scored just 29 points in 11 races and lies 10th in the Drivers’ Championship and told Dutch outlet NOS that the impact of the 2022 cars has been “so-so”, adding it is now simply “all about Red Bull and Ferrari.”

“Unfortunately, Formula 1 is still very predictable,” Alonso said. “It’s all about Red Bull and Ferrari. Only Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Pérez can win. I don’t know of any other sport where it goes like this.

“The GPs have become more fun and with these cars you can fight better. Still, I think it’s too boring, but it’s also part of F1. There will always be teams that are faster than others.

“The final stage at Silverstone was sensational, but that was mainly because the Safety Car put the field together. Suddenly I was an eyewitness and I had a view of the leaders, but there was also a downside – halfway through the race I was sixth in no man’s land. Not very exciting.”

Alonso has shown glimpses of top form, notably qualifying on the front row in wet conditions in Montreal last month, but has also been hampered by reliability issues with his car - he started from the back of the grid for last Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix after a problem forced his car out of the Saturday sprint.

Yet he emphasised that the team are “quite competitive” and they have made big steps in the past few races in Silverstone and Spielberg.

“Of course, I miss the fierce podium duels,” he added. “Of course it feels great when I can excel for a while, like in Canada when I started next to Max on the front row. That’s great about this season, I can show things that people don’t expect from me anymore.

“That was always my strength and it makes me proud. It’s what drives me: being a better driver than in 2021. You also race against yourself in this sport.

“I am quite happy with this season. We are quite competitive, but we have made some mistakes and had a lot of bad luck, like at the start of the sprint race [at Silverstone]. The car is not reliable enough, as a result we have not harvested enough [points]. Still, things are going in the right direction.

“At the last race in England, we made a big step through big updates. Red Bull and Ferrari are still a size too big, but the gap has narrowed a lot. We still lose ground in slow corners. There is room for improvement there.”