Famous Motorsport figure Gil de Ferran has claimed that Formula One is "too perfect" which is why it keeps on turning off the public.
The 47-year-old former racing driver and team owner thinks that the reason behind F1's declining audience can also be attributed to the sport's success.
"Formula One will always be the top of motor racing," the Brazilian said to Germany's Auto Motor and Sport. "But it's too perfect. It lacks the human factor.
"Over the past two decades, huge investments were made in Formula One, and everything has got better to the point almost of perfection. The aim has been to eliminate mistakes and mishaps.
"Now I wonder: Is there anything left that is bad? When I look at the cars at the far end of the field, I have to say that even they look damn good."
Ferran added that the current situation is in contrast to that of '80s and '90s, which he believes as F1's best era wherein the drivers struggled to tame their own cars.
"Any step back in that direction would be a good one," he insisted.
"Even in my day, we all dreamed of the perfect race," de Ferran continued. "Start from pole, do a good start, drive with no mistakes, take care of the tires, lap the field and win the race.
"Unfortunately, the people don't really want to see that," he added. "But if you have everything you need in your hands to plan this perfect race, things get dangerous. This is the curse of the money that is in Formula One.
"I do believe that today's F1 drivers are still working hard for that perfect race, it's just so hard to see from the outside. Maybe I can see it, because I raced for 30 years. But it's difficult for the ordinary spectator."
However, Ferran himself also thinks that F1 as it is, is still one of the most popular sports in the world.
"When we are talking about the problems, everything is relative," he said. "I drove into Silverstone on Friday morning and was stuck in a traffic jam -- so the problems cannot be too great.
"Henry Ford once said that if he had asked the people what they want, they would have said 'faster horses.' And if Steve Jobs had asked people what they want, no one would have told him the smartphone.
"What I mean is that although it is important to know how the fans tick, what you actually deliver to the people must be decided by those who run the business," said de Ferran.
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