David Coulthard says unhappiness amongst drivers about this year’s F1 cars is widespread because they lack the “pure” driving experience and noise of previous seasons.
Several drivers have spoken out about aspects of the new cars, with Sebastian Vettel saying the new V6 turbo engines sounded “shit” ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Coulthard, who won 13 grands prix before his retirement in 2008 and is now a pundit for the BBC’s F1 coverage, believes other drivers are not speaking out publicly but share the misgivings about the new era of F1.
“They are not happy,” Coulthard told AOL Cars. “The marketers love it because it gives them a reason to put their investment into F1, and I completely understand that, but the drivers are not enjoying driving the cars this year.
“Nico [Rosberg] and Lewis [Hamilton] are probably a bit happier as they have a better package, but even if you speak to them privately they say the driving experience is not as pure as it was. When I was a kid going to Silverstone I remember standing at Stowe Corner and it was misty. Out of the morning mist came a V12 Ferrari driven by [Jean] Alesi and the noise was amazing – you heard it coming and knew it was a Ferrari. It went past and you went ‘wow’.”