Narrowness of cars posing overtaking problems

The McLaren driver said that it is nearly impossible to use a car's slipstream to pass, because the car in front cuts too little a hole in the air.

'It's hard to get a slipstream now even though we have been quickest in a straight line all weekend,' he added.

'We are 3mph quicker than most people and yet you get behind them on a straight and you hardly notice the tow. We need wide cars so you get a slipstream.

'When I first started in F1 [in 1994] if you had a 1-2mph advantage on the straight you really could pick up a tow from a long way back and pass in the braking area. Now, you can't get close in a fast corner, even if it's a Minardi, because it takes your air, and it takes a long, long time to see the advantage on the straight.'

Championship rival Michael Schumacher said, 'The turbulence is the same [at Barcelona as at other tracks], but it may have a higher effect here because the corners are different.

'But the point is that the general direction we have gone in the last two years with the tyres seems to get worse for these circumstances. I hope people recognise that and so something about it.'