Three times world Formula One champion Niki Lauda warned that the sport risks becoming boring because of moresophisticated technology.
The Austrian said the drive to make racing safer had sacrificed much of the drama.
"There is no longer any blood on the track, which is as it should be, of course. It was necessary to make sport safer but if races areboring audiences will go," he said.
"The next five years are crucial to the sport. We have to make races more interesting. The cars and track lay-outs have to change. We have tobring overtaking back into Formula One.
Lauda was badly burned in a near-fatal crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix. Many feared for his life but he was back in a Ferrari cockpit just sixweeks later.
He said increased reliance on computers and advanced technology was removing the skill from racing.
"In the old days of Formula One, you had to measure the wing and the ride height; now you have to measure the size of the brain of thecomputer.
"They have introduced traction control because drivers cannot control their cars. It takes all the effort out of driving the cars away from thedrivers... It's a joke.
"At the moment a lot of the excitement centres on pit stops. I like them because at least if the race is boring you can watch what is happening inthe garage. But there has to be more than that," he said.