Jean Alesi, who has spent more than ten years on the F1 circuits, is now a consultant for Canal +, which is broadcasting the Spanish Grand Prix live this Sunday at 3 p.m.
He won the Grand Prix du Canada in 1995, competed in over 200 races and podiumed 32 times.
Twenty years after leaving the great circus, his opinion is still very enlightening.
Notably to explain to us the reasons for the renewed public interest in F1.
Why is Formula 1 becoming fashionable again?
JEAN ALESI.
The first explanation is the actors.
If we stay among the French, we have Pierre Gasly, who last year won a Grand Prix.
He has a car that is quite capable.
He has been fighting since the start of the championship to be in the top 10 in every race.
The same goes for Esteban Ocon with Alpine.
So much for the cocorico side.
TV broadcasts also do a lot there, don't they?
If I can speak for myself, at Canal +, we work in a team that runs really well, everyone knows their role and we manage to do great things.
I think it shows on the air.
All the reports in parallel on the preparation of the pilots and the teams are very beautiful.
The day there is the Grand Prix, it makes you want to watch it.
"There is no more friend at this hour."
Formula 1: The pressure continues to mount with the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend. @ CanalplusF1 #SpainGP
- CANAL + (@canalplus) May 6, 2021
They say the audience is younger and more feminine than before.
Do you think so?
Yes, young people are interested in F1 again and that makes me happy, because it is a great sport.
There was in this area a vague passage during which one wondered why the young people were turning away from F1 and why F1 was also moving away from them.
Yet it is a spectacle sport that follows technology, including ecological ones.
There was a moment of hollow, but now it's picking up and it's good, because it's more attractive.
Has Formula 1 been in danger of indifference at one time?
I do not believe.
Formula 1 remains Formula 1. Not so long ago, we celebrated the 1000th Grand Prix in history.
There have always been heroes in this sport and it is important not to think that F1 was “has been” at one point.
But this sport was of much less interest ...
It was perhaps also more generally due to the relation to the automobile.
Look: passing your license is no longer the number 1 priority. The young people had difficulty identifying with pilots or racing cars who are monsters.
There wasn't that sensitivity, but it's coming back.
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Would Formula 1 not become more human again?
I do not know.
Yes maybe.
Cars used to be dangerous, maybe even more dangerous than now.
But there was something stuck.
It was perhaps due to the too great supremacy of Michael Schumacher which made F1 inaccessible.
Are the new owners of Formula 1, who run the World Championship, doing things the right way?
I believe him.
They search, they do non-stop surveys to find out what the fans want.
They really want F1 to become a popular sport again.
Even though the stands are empty because of the Covid-19 ...
It's terrible, but as soon as it will reopen, the spectators will be amazed.
Believe me, the first time in your life that you see a Formula 1 pass in front of you, accelerating or braking, it's something hallucinating!
Do you like all these developments?
They are in line with the evolution of technology.
Take for example a Renault 5 from the 1990s and compare it with the new small cars coming out today: it has nothing to do with it anymore.
It's day and night.
With F1 it's exactly the same.
Is F1's new popularity just a fad or will it last?
F1 changes its rules at the right time.
Next year there will be completely new cars, which will give the fans yet another huge boost to keep their interest in the sport.
Apart from the competition, what the enthusiast also likes to watch is the machine.
He will see the difference in 2022.
What will change in 2022?
Visually, it's the aerodynamics of cars.
The ailerons are going to be lower.
There will no longer be the right to put all the flaps in all directions.
The cars will all appear to be similar, but there will be plenty of developments under the hood.
There will then be an interest in understanding why one car goes faster than another.
Does this renewed interest in F1 go beyond the framework of France?
Absolutely.
At the forefront, we have drivers and cars from different teams fighting for pole and for the race.
I am obviously thinking of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen who are having a really exciting fight.
All this gives a lot of interest to our sport.
Doesn't Lewis Hamilton dominate the World Championship too much to make it even more interesting?
It's true, but this year, we have two teams, Mercedes and Red Bull, which are practically tied, which gives the drivers even more credit.
Hamilton has often been criticized for having the best car.
It was therefore normal that he won.
Now it is not certain that he drives the best car and yet he always wins.
It puts the human side forward.
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Do you like the start of the season?
Ah yes !
We had magnificent races even if the Portuguese Grand Prix was a bit difficult.
But in Imola, we had a lot of twists and turns, like in Bahrain.
It promises.
Why do you have to watch the Spanish Grand Prix this Sunday?
There is already great uncertainty about the weather.
I'm watching her right now and the weather is not safe at all.
Going in the rain and arriving in the dry or vice versa completely changes the situation of a race.
This promises a lot of twists and turns, because the strategic side becomes random.
Under these conditions, the suspense is at its maximum.
Can a Frenchman win this weekend or is it too early?
No, it is possible.
But we must consider Ocon and Gasly as outsiders.
When you see Alpine's performances, it's encouraging, because they have recovered well.
And if Pierre Gasly won a Grand Prix last year, he can win another.
Can they win often this year?
On a regular basis, they can't win because they don't have the cars to do it. In front, not to mention breakage, racing conditions must be met to put them in the right direction.