'F1 needs more power,’ says nine-time Le Mans champ

More horsepower. More oversteer. Less aero. These are things that nine-time Le Mans champion Tom Kristensen – along with many of us here at TG – would like to see in today’s Formula One.

Speaking to TopGear.com at the Singapore GP, the Le Mans hero and Rolex ambassador stated he’d like to see the cars become a bit more of a handful for the drivers.

“I would love to see them with a little bit more power for the aerodynamics they have,” he told TG. “I would love to see more power. I would love to see the rear ends breaking away more often when you’re going on the throttle.

“That’s what I like, and what the drivers like in general. The less aero, the closer the cars can get next to each other,” he added.

Kristensen believes F1 needs more unpredictability at the front of the grid, pointing to Mercedes-AMG’s near two-year domination of Formula One since the new V6 hybrid engines took hold. Taking both titles last year, Merc look on course to do the same this year too.

“Sometimes you would say it would be nice to mix it up,” he said, “and you would like to see overtaking. I would love to have even more power still, though, and wider tyres.”

At the same time, the Dane admits F1 is a “good and strong championship” at the moment, suggesting open-wheel racing’s top tier, combined with the WEC and Formula E, provides a great triumvirate of motorsport to cover a broad base of fans.

On the WEC, Tom spoke of his decision to retire from endurance racing late last year. “I started to think a little bit about retiring after Le Mans 2014,” he said. “We were leading close to the finish but we had problems with the turbo – I felt like I had one hand on the trophy.

“But anyway, we had a long break before the next race in Austin, so I had time to think and I felt it was a good time to stop. I still felt strong at that time – obviously now I’m much weaker – but I’ve been racing since I was nine years old, I think I can call it time.

“I’m not missing it,” he added. “I don’t miss the competition.”

But does F1 need a little bit more competition, the kind served up at the Singapore GP last weekend? Would you like to see more power, wider tyres and less aero in F1? Let us know below...