Former team owner Eddie Jordan believes Fernando Alonso’s new Aston Martin deal demonstrates that F1 is making “a very serious mistake” by making modern vehicles too easy to drive.
After being linked to both Red Bull and Mercedes, Alonso committed his long-term future to Aston Martin earlier this month, signing a new multi-year contract with the company that would last until the conclusion of the 2026 season.
Fernando Alonso ‘would have retired by now’ in previous F1 cars.
The Spaniard’s new contract will carry him over the age of 45, making him the oldest driver to race in F1 on a permanent basis for some time. Alonso began his career with Minardi in 2001.
Jordan, who appeared on the Formula For Success podcast alongside former McLaren and Red Bull driver David Coulthard, believes Alonso’s choice to stay is a clear indication that F1’s technical rules are moving in the wrong direction.
And he believes that by keeping veteran drivers like Alonso around, new drivers like Oliver Bearman, who excelled as a substitute for Carlos Sainz at last month’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, are “cheated” of a chance to flourish.
When asked if Alonso’s stay is a positive thing or if the two-time World Champion is hanging on for too long, Jordan replied: “Hanging on, I think, but he can drive the car as fast as anyone else, so why shouldn’t he?” I can see people supporting and opposing it.
“Where I disagree, it is not his fault. I blame the automobiles. I’ll never say a Formula One car is easy to drive, but it is easier to drive [now].
“You don’t see the bull [caught by the horns] like, say, Nigel Mansell, who was hardly able to get out of the car because his neck was hanging off.
“David, you lived in a period when fitness was extremely essential.
“I believe that at 45 years of age, if you asked Alonso to get back into a car identical to one from 20 years ago, he would have retired by now, and a young, up-and-coming driver would have had a chance.
“Nothing against Alonso – it’s not his fault – but I believe Formula One is making a huge mistake.
“And that is that the cars – and the new rules with the weight of the car – don’t sound right; they’re too heavy, they’re easier to drive than what we remember, and all you’re doing is playing into the hands of the older driver because it makes much more sense to keep what you’ve got and what you know is better than what you don’t know.
“I used to have this debate with [former McLaren boss] Ron Dennis all the time. He changed after giving Lewis Hamilton a chance, but before that, he always had someone who had been there before or was giving them an opportunity.
“I simply believe that young drivers are being scammed. They are being cheated. They need a chance.
“What is the point of having such a powerful Formula 2 championship? We probably know about five Oliver Bearmans.
“David, your own son, what are his chances of making Formula One in the current situation? And why are individuals spending fortunes on their children, sponsors, and other expenses to get to Formula One when there is no chance?
“Formula One wants to demonstrate that the drivers who won these races worked hard for it.
“What is difficult to accept is that Max [Verstappen] is winning these races by 11 seconds, but it could be just as easily be 25 seconds if he decided to keep up the push.”
Coulthard, who won 13 races in 246 F1 starts between 1994 and 2008, noted that the lack of in-race refuelling and the thermally sensitive Pirelli tyres are two major reasons why the cars are frequently driven slower than their absolute performance in racing conditions.
And he said that last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, in which a lot of drivers suffered in the severe heat, demonstrates that drivers must be physically inspected behind the wheel of an F1 car.
He stated, “It’s definitely a very competitive route to Formula One with only 20 cars.”
“I believe Fernando is a terrific driver, and what he does is provide a benchmark – particularly for his teammate since he is the only one with the same car – but he is also a benchmark for these younger drivers that make it to Formula One.
“What I’m trying to illustrate is that because the lap-time differential between qualifying and the race is initially so large, the physicality of driving the car is reflected in the lap time.
“So, the faster the lap time, the higher the g-forces and energy, and thus the greater the physicality.
“We would have a two-second gap between qualifying and the start of the grand prix because we had to refuel, so we didn’t start the race with a lot of gasoline onboard – perhaps 30-40 kilograms of fuel, whereas they have up to 100 kilograms of fuel aboard [today].
“Ten kilograms equals around three tenths or three-and-a-half tenths depending on the circuit, thus the weight of the car alone adds several seconds to the time.
“Additionally, the Pirelli tyres must be thermally regulated, so they back away to keep the tyres in shape, so they are well within their physical capabilities at the start of the race.
“Very often, you’ll see them get out of a race with their hair not even wet, and they haven’t sweated in the car.”
“Of course, this generation is extraordinary; every generation should outperform the previous one, so I’m not saying the drivers aren’t talented. Of course not. They are extraordinary, and we have people from prior generations of automobiles, such as Fernando and Lewis.
“But the cars are becoming heavier, which makes them slower. And the amount of energy dispelled by their drivers indicates that they are not working as hard in the cockpit.
“Which is why, when we had the race in Qatar where everyone was complaining about the heat – and some members of the public were saying it was shameful, they shouldn’t have been forced to drive in those conditions – people do ultra-marathons and the Dakar.
“Ask Carlos Sainz Sr about late nights, early mornings, and sleeping in a tent.
“I think that being pushed mentally and physically to your limit is part of being an athlete and I think that therefore you should have extreme events that challenge you in that way.”
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