Former team boss Flavio Briatore has slammed the new face of Formula 1 after the first race of the all new V6 turbo era.

The 63-year-old Italian, absent from Formula 1 in the wake of the crashgate scandal, said that he watched the Melbourne race last weekend and thought it was “disrespectful” to the spectators and television audience.

“They (the spectators) do not understand why the drivers do not attack, why and how they’re saving fuel, and why champion drivers refuse even to defend their position.

“This was a strange spectacle, leaving behind the most beautiful sport in the world,” Briatore told Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport.

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