Alain Prost: F1 is in 'a crisis on all levels' this season
Alain Prost: F1 is in 'a crisis on all levels' this season
F1 legend Alain Prost believes the vast majority of teams on the grid are "in crisis" at the start of the new season.
Never one shy in giving his opinion, the four-time world champion and former team boss has come out firing at everyone in his latest column in a French newspaper.
With the exception of Aston Martin, the 68-year-old believes every team is enduring a "crisis" of some equation.
His remarks came on the eve of the most exciting race of the season so far in Australia.
"It's a weird start to the season. Wherever you look, you can see that it's not going well and that, in a way, it's already a crisis. And a crisis on all levels, whether you are a big or a small," writes Prost, in French newspaper L'Equipe.
"There are, of course, the factory or historic teams which are suffering, such as McLaren, which is not only not rebuilding but, year after year, is plunging.
"There is Alpine, whose recovery is still slow in coming. There is Mercedes, which persists in its admittedly innovative concept but which obviously does not work."
Prost: Even Red Bull are in crisis
Even the championship frontrunners Red Bull did not escape the crosshairs of Prost.
"Its system of favouring a single driver, Max Verstappen, which has worked so well, is showing its first signs of failure," opined Prost. "Sergio Perez, now settled in the team, is discovering that he can win and is no longer willing to compromise to stay.
"Even if Red Bull's domination continues, the next few weeks will be crucial for the reigning world champions. It's clear that anything can quickly throw a spanner in the works and that, even at the top, a crisis is never far away."
Prost on Ferrari and Aston Martin
Prost also discussed his former team Ferrari - who sacked him after two seasons in 1991 when he criticised the team's car - and the appointment of compatriot Fred Vasseur as team principal.
The French motorsport legend believes it's going to take a while for things to improve at Maranello.
"Ferrari, by deciding to bring in new blood and a new head, a foreign one at that, does not have today the results that we would have liked for it. And they won't arrive immediately," writes Prost, who exempted only Aston Martin from his 'in crisis' label.
"Last year, it decided to draw a line under its 2022 car and agreed to reinvent itself. First, it changed drivers, without a second thought, from (Sebastian) Vettel to (Fernando) Alonso.
"It took the time to understand what it was doing and is now at the top, far from the crisis that the others are going through. A lesson for all the other teams."
READ MORE: F1 Team Principals: Who are the men in charge in 2023?
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Nyck De Vries
- Liam Lawson
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Australia 2023
- Grand Prix of China 2023
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023
- Miami Grand Prix 2023
- Qatar Airways Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
- AWS Gran Premio de España 2023
- Grand Prix du Canada 2023
- Grand Prix of Austria 2023
- Aramco Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Italy 2023
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
- Grand Prix of Japan 2023
- Qatar Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of the United States 2023
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
- Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
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