Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel believes the essence of Formula 1 is sport, and that perhaps the pinnacle of motor racing should looks back at its past in order to find a viable path towards its future.
Ferrari’s Vettel, who is now in his tenth season of Grand Prix racing, also advocated for a more simple approach in terms of regulations, something he believes is intimately linked with better racing.
“If we had more equality among the teams we would have better racing as well. Obviously there has been a lot of talk about what to do, we’ve had the example of qualifying, we’ve had talks about race formats, regulations, etc..
“I think if we need a simple approach to allow all the teams to race very close to each other. I’m not saying that all the cars should be the same, because that would be against my understanding on the nature of Formula 1.
“But if we had a more equal spread across the field I think that would help us to race harder and race more. I think aerodynamics are a good thing because they give you a fantastic sensation of cornering speeds.
“But the way it’s currently set up it’s very difficult to follow another car, which means it’s difficult to overtake. We need a more simple approach, and we need F1 to be a bit more raw and wild so that it’s great for us, great for the fans at the track and at home.
While appreciating Formula 1’s modern-day show business aura, Vettel still wants to be involved in a sport where the competitive spirit supersedes anything else.
“The way I consider Formula 1 is it’s a sport. I appreciate the fact that it’s a show as well but for me it is a sport.
“When I started racing, the bit that I was the most interested in other than the pleasure of driving was the racing, fighting with the other kids, trying to come out first, trying to be the quickest, and I think that should always remain the main challenge.
“F1 has always been the pinnacle of motorsport, so it’s natural that the cars should always be quicker than all the other cars around the globe, which I think they’re are still aspects that we can improve.
Vettel also encouraged F1’s power brokers to revisit the sports’ past in order to find solutions for its future.
“If you look back and sort of draw an average, it should be fairly clear what to stick to or what to go back to in the future.”