Alonso: New cars don't afford F1 drivers coffee breaks after errors
Formula 1 drivers can no longer afford a 'coffee break' when reacting to errors given the pace of the 2017 cars, claims Fernando Alonso
The wider and faster 2017 machines have earned rave reviews from drivers, and Alonso - a fierce critic of the previous generation of F1 designs - said they demanded much faster reactions.
"When you lose the car a little bit on the rear end especially, it's difficult to recover because you are fast on the corners," said Alonso.
"So you have half a tenth of a second to react.
"Last year you had four seconds - in the corner you could take a coffee in those cars!
"Definitely you are in a different category and are more in the direction of F1.
"I'm happy that an F1 car goes faster in the corners than a GP2 or a Japanese [Super] Formula, many other categories that were faster than F1 in the corners."
The increased difficulty of overtaking in the new cars has prompted concern but Alonso argued spectators will be entertained enough by the faster speeds.
"The cars are much more fun to drive, the cornering speed is back to what an F1 car should be," he said.
"I think the fans will love that feeling of watching the cars from the grandstand going to that speed into the corner.
"Also on television I think they look better.
"We're still missing the sound of F1 that was part of the DNA of the sport, but I guess that will not come anymore.
"I think we're in a good position for the sport and we have good years in front of us in terms of show and in terms of excitement, driving these cars.
"I read that maybe the DRS zone will be reconsidered after the first couple of races, so everyone is working in the same direction of making F1 spectacular again."
Alonso also thinks the 2017 regulations are allowing drivers to make more of a difference, citing the gaps between some team-mate pairings in Melbourne qualifying as evidence.
"We see the teams, how they split the drivers - always one experienced driver [faster], one rookie maybe behind," he said.
"In these kinds of circuits, narrow, bumpy, where you have to push the car, it's not easy to get into the speed.
"So I think the cars are definitely tougher to drive."
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