Fernando Alonso: 2017 F1 cars are much harder to drive
Fernando Alonso says he’s happy that the 2017 regulations have succeeded in their aim of bringing F1 back to where it should be and in effect sort the men from the boys – citing the disparity in performance between experienced and less experienced drivers apparent in several teams.
The Spaniard also stressed that higher speeds mean that it’s now much easier to lose control. Several drivers have spun or hit the barrier and subsequently claimed that they had no warning and were mystified at how quickly the car had stepped out, including Daniel Ricciardo and Jolyon Palmer.
After qualifying Romain Grosjean noted that cornering forces are approaching 8G, clear evidence of the increased loadings.
“Definitely I’m much more happy now,” he said. “We see also the teams, how they split the drivers – always one experienced driver, one rookie maybe behind. In these kinds of circuits, narrow, bumpy, where you have to push the car, it’s not easy to get into the speed. So I think the cars are definitely tougher to drive and more difficult to drive.
“Also when you lose the car a little bit on the rear end especially it’s difficult to recover because you are fast on the corners. So you have half a tenth of a second to react. Last year you had four seconds, in the corner you could take a coffee in those cars!
“Definitely you are in a different category and are more in the direction of F1. I’m happy that an F1 car goes faster in the corners than a GP2 or a Japanese [Super] Formula, many other categories that were faster than an F1 in the corners.”
Alonso is confident that drivers and fans will enjoy the racing this year.
“The cars are much more fun to drive, the cornering speed is back to what an F1 should be," Alonso said. "I think the fans will love that feeling of watching the cars from the grandstand going to that speed into the corner. Also on television, I think they look better. I think we’re still missing the sound of F1 that was part of the DNA of the sport, but I guess that will not come anymore.
“I think we’re in a good position for the sport, and I think we have good years in front of us in terms of show and in terms of excitement, driving these cars. We need to see how the races are because obviously, we are just on the first Saturday of the season, so hopefully, we’ll see some competition at the front, we’ll see some overtakings.
“I read that maybe the DRS zone will be reconsidered after the first couple of races, so everyone is working in the same direction of making F1 spectacular again. I think we are in that direction – I’m happy.”
