De la Rosa: V8 cars a lot easier to drive

"I think [driving] is a lot easier," the McLaren test driver told Spanish daily Marca. "Physically is less demanding. Now you can complete a test and do 100 laps very easily.

"It's like asking a marathon runner to complete every kilometre in 3:20 instead of 3:15. It takes away the adrenaline rush and all the driving skill required to drive an F1 car.

"To me, this is more like a GP2 car."

Grand Prix cars will use engines with less capacity next year after the FIA introduced new rules to switch from 3.0 to 2.4 litre power units.

But with the amount of downforce remaining unchanged, de la Rosa reckons the cars are now less fun to drive.

"If the loss of power had been combined with a loss of downforce, the car would still be fun to drive," he added. "But if the car is the same and they take away 200 horsepower it becomes very easy. It's like a limpet.

"I think they have overdone it taking so much power out. They should have also reduced the downforce by 20 per cent. Even the crowd is going to notice the sound difference, it's less spectacular than before."