Alain Prost: F1 is in 'a crisis on all levels' this season

F1 in 2023

Alain Prost: F1 is in 'a crisis on all levels' this season

The French F1 legend has gone in strongly on the sport in his column for a French newspaper

Stuart Hodge

Sunday 2 April 2023 19:00

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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.

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"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

Christian Horner and Max Verstappen chat in Australia

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.

Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin in Australia

"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."