Fernando Alonso has claimed that the removal of two F1 rules by the FIA has contributed to the sport becoming less exciting for both fans and drivers.
Alonso is heading into 24th F1 season at the age of 44, making him the most experienced driver in F1 history.
The Spaniard made his debut in 2001, which is before the birth of six of the current members of the grid and has won two world titles with Renault during his career.
Alonso finished 10th in the 2025 standings, scoring 56 points compared to Lance Stroll's 33 for Aston Martin.
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The veteran has seen huge regulation and rule changes throughout his career, and speaking in the Bravissimo documentary on DAZN, he admitted he misses certain rules from his early career.
“The regulations were very different from today’s," Alonso explained.
"We had only one set of tyres and refuelling, which forced you to come up with strategies.
“Every Sunday, you had to anticipate many things. That made everything much more exciting," he added.
Alonso claimed that these extra strategical variables made it easier for slower cars to compete with the fastest team, which could have aided Max Verstappen's pursuit of a fifth world title last season.
He continued" "In addition, we were fighting against a giant like McLaren. They were a tad faster.
“We knew that the McLarens were a little faster than us, but they had reliability issues.
"My concern was to take advantage of every opportunity, because we knew there would be weekends when we would lose points."
Despite rumours of an imminent retirement, Alonso insisted he still enjoys driving in 2025 as much as he did during his world championship winning years.
“All these years have gone by so quickly because it has always been a continuation of those wonderful years. That’s why I’m still racing. I still enjoy it as much as I did in 2005," Alonso said.
Why refuelling was banned in F1
Despite refuelling providing exciting alternate strategy options for teams, the practice has been banned since 2010 due to safety concerns.
Following the decision from the FIA, fuel tanks increased in size and weight to counteract the rule change, one of many new regulations that added more weight to F1 cars.
The rule change was officially sanctioned after Kimi Raikkonen burned in an incident involving Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren in 2009 despite many incidents throughout the years.
Max Verstappen's father Jos, was famously set on fire during a pitstop in 1994, after their fuel system malfunctioned.
Topics: Fernando Alonso, Formula 1, FIA, Motorsport
Tom Jenkins