LEWIS HAMILTON has launched an S.O.S to help save Formula One.
The reigning world champion cruised to win the French GP last weekend to open up a commanding lead in the championship.
However, despite crushing his opponents and looking nailed-on for his sixth world crown, the Brit is not happy F1 has become boring and says it is “in a mess”.
The 34-year-old is correct and now using his position as F1’s flag-bearer to produced a blueprint which he hopes will Save Our Sport.
Last week, Hamilton went off his own back to meet F1 and team bosses at the Paris HQ of the FIA, the sport’s governing body, to put through his thoughts on how to improve the racing.
His blueprint for the future, which race chiefs MUST listen to, include:
Hamilton said: “I’d always been kind of quiet. There were a lot of outspoken people over years in drivers’ briefings but I felt like last couple of years, we’ve all aligned as drivers.
“I also realised the position and responsibility I have as the driver with the most championships, it has a meaning when it comes to speaking to the FIA.
“If they listen at all to any of us, it is the drivers who have been here for a little bit longer, who have truly experienced different tyres and different aero packages, hopefully have better understanding. I see the mess that we’re in, I see it every year.
“I’ve been here a long time and I’d love to be able to look back and say ‘I was a part of helping that positive change for the fans that are watching Formula One’, not just a driver and the titles but someone who actually cared about the sport.”
Hamilton’s outspoken comments should be applauded, even if he admits some of his proposals might contradict the view of his employers, Mercedes.
He added: “From how the sport is currently set up, just from watching when I was there in Paris, it’s not good. Really not good. They won’t like me saying that.
“The FIA, they’re the governing body and they need to make all the decisions. The teams shouldn’t be involved in that because the teams all want to do something for themselves.
“That’s the natural thing, they are competitive. It’s the same in football, if all the teams sat in a room and said the sport should be like this, they would push for their own benefit.
“But if you get central group of people, like the FIA for example, they should have the power. They should make the decisions.
“Currently, they don’t have the right answers, because they’re sitting there talking about making the car heavier which baffles me.
“Why? The car is already 130kg heavier than when I first got to the sport. What they don’t know is we have the best brakes we can possibly have, yet they’re overheating and fading.
“So putting another 20kg on and making the car heavier, it’s just going to get worse for the brakes. We will have to do more lift and coast and more fuel save, which has a knock on effect.”
The FIA have delayed the deadline to publish their rules for the 2021 season and beyond until October and Hamilton has called for some flexibility.
He said: “When they bring these rules out for five years long, I don’t think they should have it solid for five years. I think they should have it rolling with opportunity so that if 2021 is a great year, we can make it even better the following year with adjustments.
“We’ve also got to give a new target letter to Pirelli to provide a different kind of tyre. No driver agrees with current target. I don’t even know who wrote it, he had no input form the drivers and has no idea what it’s like to drove the car.
“We need to be a part of helping him create that target letter for next year and that might help it a little bit.”
