Tyres spicing up the sport
Alain Prost believes Formula One should count itself lucky to have such captivating racing these days.
Alain Prost: Sport lucky to have captivating racing
The sport has hit the headlines this season given the influence of the Pirelli tyres, most notably just a fortnight ago following the race in Spain where there were 79 pit stops.
It prompted widespread criticism and Pirelli are now set to modify their tyres from next month's race in Canada, primarily on safety grounds given the number of incidents in which the tread has delaminated.
Four-time world champion Prost, currently serving as ambassador and strategy advisor to engine supplier Renault, feels the complaints are unjustified as the on-track action has been spiced up.
"In the past, and very recently, F1 was very much criticised for its lack of a show," said Prost.
"So we should feel very lucky we have the kind of races we do these days, with the result not known until late.
"Looking ahead to next year, when we have the new engine coming, we will maybe talk a little more about that with the technology much closer to the product of the automotive industry.
"But we still need to keep the show, to keep the indecision in races, so it's going to be even better balanced.
"But at the moment I wouldn't criticise what we have today."
A considerable number of complaints have come from the drivers who bemoan the fact they are unable to push themselves or the car to the limit as they are conserving the tyres.
Prost, however, has reminded them that even during his day, if not the tyres, then there was always another part of the car he had to occasionally nurse to ensure he achieved the best result.
"It's difficult to compare my time to today because the cars are so advanced," added Prost.
"In my time, if you want to compare, we had to take care of the brakes, gearbox, fuel consumption and obviously also tyres.
"But the regulations were also very different. At one stage we had three types of rubber and we could make changes.
"I very often ran hard tyres on the left and soft tyres on the front. I even raced in Las Vegas in '81 with qualifying tyres on the front.
"It shows you cannot compare, but it also proves you need to adapt yourself, as a driver, as an engineer, to the regulations.
"It's typically Formula One."
