Jenson Button has stated that F1 needs to be faster and therefore, more exciting, if it is to inspire the younger generation to watch.
In an interview with Autoweek, the 2009 World Champion highlighted how the current speed of the sport compared with junior categories such as GP2, is detrimental to the spectacle.
“I think the cars need to be quite a lot quicker,” Button said. “I remember in 2005 how amazed I was to see a Formula One car go around the circuit and the grip level was just beyond anything.
“That’s the way it should be. It should be out-of-this-world fast. It should be light years above anything else, not just two seconds quicker than a GP2 car. It should be beyond kids’ wildest dreams when they see a Formula One car. It should blow their mind, and I don’t think it does at the moment.”
Button’s comments come following a week where the sport’s political state-of-affairs have been publicly criticised by the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA), of whom Button is a director. Somewhat supporting the GPDA’s fears, the sport then spiraled into a week of negativity.
The announcement that live F1 would be effectively removed from free-to-air television from 2019 was met with widespread disapproval among fans, as did the news that rule-makers had failed to scrap the hugely controversial elimination qualifying format ahead of next weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
For Button’s aforementioned F1 ideal to be achieved, it is essential that the governing body formulate an effective set of regulations for 2017. While there is a desire to make cars significantly faster, it seems that many are unconvinced by previously suggested methods of obtaining necessary the performance improvements.
With confusion still surrounding what the F1 landscape will look like next season, coupled with the political challenges publicly evidenced by this week’s events, those hoping that the sport will blow minds again in 2017 are surely now having to be cautious with their optimism.
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