1980s star thinks F1 2014 is the best

There are few people you meet in Formula 1 who are more 'glass half full' than Derek Warwick.

Having seen it all during his years in stock cars, grands prix racing and sportscars, if you spark up a conversation about anything to do with motor racing, you'll find a man instantly firing on all cylinders.

However, the start to the 2014 season has left even him needing to muster all his enthusiasm to stop getting dragged down by the negativity that's surrounded F1.

"I, like everybody else, was caught up in that whole story from Australia about the noise," he said, chatting during a British Grand Prix media event at Silverstone last week.

"I always take as an example my [car dealership] garage, because they are all F1 nuts," continued Warwick. "Everyone there fell into the same trap of it being negative.

Warwick remains heavily involved in F1 and motorsport © LAT

"But I said to them, hang on a minute, guys, for the first time in many a year, I'm watching racers - the best in the world - driving cars that are biting them. The cars now have too much power and not enough downforce. That's fantastic."

Warwick's perspective backs up a growing belief that the real reason F1 faced such bad PR this year - and has been struggling to convince fans not to turn off - has had little to do with what's been happening on the track.

Instead, it has everything to do with the fact that those whose jobs it is to promote the sport and deliver a bigger audience have caused the bad press themselves.

For beyond the noise issue - which everyone now accepts has tapped into the emotions of fans - there's nothing about the racing this year that can justify ringing alarm bells.

One team may be winning everything, but that's nothing new in our sport, after all. The talk of taxi-cab driving and extreme fuel saving has also proved wide of the mark - some teams are already short filling, for instance. And just wait for Monaco, where the less-thirsty engines may use under 85kg of fuel for the race.

Warwick concurs that the real problem F1 faced at the start of this year was the negative PR from on high.

"That's 100 per cent," he says. "I never understand any sport or any business doing its dirty washing in public.

"Everyone's mentioned Gerald Ratner [former boss of the Ratners jewellery group], who said he sold junk - his company nearly went bankrupt a few years later. So I've been a bit surprised and disappointed by Ferrari, Red Bull and Bernie Ecclestone.

"I put a lot back into my sport as a steward, on the safety side and on the FIA side. I am president of the BRDC and I do what I can for Silverstone. I do it all for nothing. So when I see people hurting my sport, I get very defensive about it."

Warwick was in the thick of F1's first turbo era © LAT

But while all the doom and gloom has undoubtedly caused some damage, equally none of F1's stakeholders has done enough to ram home the message to fans about why the new technology is better, and why it matters to every fan who switches on a television set.

The endless paranoia among the teams that revealing any technical details could hand the opposition an advantage has resulted in very little being said about the brilliance going on under those engine covers.

Last week, the city of Sheffield unveiled a new fleet of buses using the same hybrid technology that's been pioneered in F1. This is exactly the sort of thing grand prix chiefs should be shouting about, because it highlights that the sport is relevant again, and leading with expertise that's going to benefit everyone in years to come.

It's why Warwick, despite the bad press, is still buoyant about the state of F1.

"I'm excited," he said. "I have been an anorak all my life about F1, and I see this as the best era ever.

"But some of the technology is difficult for the punter to understand, because it's not something you can see or touch. You can't watch it work on television like DRS - so we need to show the fans more about what is going on."

I couldn't agree more.