Formula 1: Alain Prost says cars going all-electric a stupid, stupid regulation

Formula 1

Prost: Cars going all-electric a stupid, stupid regulation

Formula 1 could be on its knees in the future, according to the former world champion

Martin Macdonald

Tuesday 25 February 2020 11:27

Four-time Formula 1 champion Alain Prost has slammed the plans of European countries to completely move away from fossil fuel powered cars to all-electric, and has fears that it will drastically effect in the future of the sport.

Several countries have pledged to ban the sale of petrol, diesel, and even hybrid cars by 2040, with some significantly earlier, in order to combat climate change.

Therefore, this will subsequently impact how F1 constructors operate, with Honda confessing this week that the cost of going all-electric could lead to them having to step away from competition.

Prost, clearly, is not a fan of the electric trend.

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"I am really upset about what I can see today with the automobile industry," the Frenchman told Motorsport.com when asked about governments looking to ban petrol and diesel.

"We are going to give everything to the Chinese [automotive industry] where in 10 years' time, they are going to introduce their cars here - and that is what I don't like.

"I don't care because I'm not part of the industry but I really hate that. It is stupid, stupid regulation.

"We're going to lose I promise you, one million people [employees] in the next 10 years in the automobile industry if we don't change that.

“Today, if you had a big car with a diesel engine with the nice [pollution] filters, it should not be a problem."

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He believes that F1 ultimately has two options for the future - revert back to popular engines which made F1 so entertaining in the past but are environmentally unfriendly, or embrace a new power source, such as hydrogen.

"So what is the technology for F1 in the future? It is difficult to know. On one side, and it's not my position, we go back to 12 cylinder and we have the same vision of F1 worldwide,” he explained.

"Or, if we go to hydrogen in 10 years time, we would have another philosophy. And why not? But who is going to push the button and make that decision? It's very difficult, but it's good to ask the question.

"We need to talk about sustainability all the time: what we can do, but the technology is very, very difficult. We cannot, like in my period [driving in F1] follow the trend of the automobile industry. Today it is much more difficult."