F1: Baku coverage was a disaster - Prost

Four-time Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost said he was disappointed with the show when he switched on the European Grand Prix and called television coverage a "disaster."

The Baku street circuit received positive feedback from drivers, but the race was uneventful. Prost fears F1 will not attract new fans on the basis of what he watched last weekend.

"I did not watch Friday and Saturday so I just followed social media and everyone was saying fantastic things about the track so I was quite happy to go and put on my TV," he said. "That was a disaster for me, I did not see the track everyone was talking about it.

"The positions of the camera were not very good. It was not really a good show. There was only one corner, with the left/right, where the cars were OK, where you get the impression of the speed.

"You're watching the onboard camera and under braking, you cannot see the speed, you cannot hear the noise, you cannot see the difficulty. If I'm seeing what F1 is for the first time, I just think I'm doing the same behind the wheel of my [road] car.

"I want it to show something very difficult. I was really bored."

PROST's IDEAS FOR BOOSTING INTEREST

Prost believes F1 promoters need to work on improving the show both on track and off it, possibly with shorter tracks and more entertainment for racegoers.

"I would like to see maybe smaller tracks, more done for the shows and for the ambience," he said. "It should be much less expensive – that means people can come with the children.

"I would go even further, to try to find a way to not make accessibility to the top racing series only for rich people."

Prost was lukewarm when asked about the 2017 regulation changes, backing the return of wider tires but against the increase in downforce.

"If you have less downforce, more mechanical grip and wider tires, you can have possibilities for smaller teams to work more on the mechanical side, more strategy on the tires," he said. "Maybe they could choose different tires or have complete freedom of the tires...even if you want softs on the front and a stiff tire on the rear.

"Teams like Force India, they can set up the car for a different management of the tires that a top team can't do because they are a bit more careful about the competition and then you can have surprises."

One thing Prost is enthusiastic about, however, is the move to adopt the halo cockpit protection device, which is set to be introduced next season.

"If it was only [to save] one person I would say yes, we have to do it," he said. "Even if it's not very nice, we are going to get used to it.

"I am 50-50. Which side do I want to go? I want to go for it."

Originally on Autosport.com