Sergio Perez has issued a warning to Formula 1 claiming the emphasis needs to be shifted onto the drivers rather than teams.
The Mexican's criticism comes as the sport continues to be dominated by just three teams, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, meaning the remaining seven outfits are dependent on circumstances to fight for higher than seventh.
Perez is one of the drivers whose career has been defined by the current pecking order, with only eight opportunistic podium finishes to his name.
“Imagine how frustrating it is to come here knowing that you are fighting to be best of the rest,” he said to Motorsport.com.
“People struggle to understand, but it is not like tennis or golf where you have some equipment but it is up to the tennis player or the golf player to deliver.
“You go there and you don’t know where you are going to finish. Here, [in F1], you come and everyone knows more or less where you are going to finish.
"So that is something that has to change dramatically in the sport to make it better, otherwise it will be a massive problem for the future.”
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Perez is hopeful the situation will change as Liberty Media try to overhaul the sport in 2021, and explained what he thinks needs to be done to make it better.
“What F1 has to do is to make this a drivers’ championship instead of a team championship,” he stated.
“There are fantastic drivers who will probably never have the opportunity to stand on the podium due to the lack of competitiveness that you get through your career. I think it is a fundamental issue and F1 has to change massively," Perez noted
“I am really looking forward to the 2021 rules to see if that happens because I’ve been too long [like this].
"I don’t want to be any longer in a championship that is teams related, so hopefully, the drivers in the future can do a bit more to make the difference.”
