Lewis Hamilton says Formula One is "outdated" and has called on its new owners to breathe fresh life into the sport.
The three time world champion says he has been told by engineers that new rules willing overtaking more difficult, which would lead to more boredom for fans of the sport.
That's despite Formula One chiefs claiming that cars will be wider, bigger and faster this season with lap times expected to tumble by up to five seconds a lap.
The 2008, 2014 and 2015 champion Hamilton made his points clear in an interview with the BBC.
"F1 is a bit outdated in the sense that if you look at other sports, they are further ahead in the entertainment factor. But F1 is catching up, and I think there’s a lot of catching up to do," he said.
"I'm excited for the new owners who have come in and I hope they do something new and I really think they're going to bring new blood, new ideas, new ways of engaging the fans in a new and unique way."
On the issue of new car designs reducing the potential for overtaking, the Mercedes driver added: "My engineers say it's going to be a lot harder to overtake. If we see overtaking is worse, it's going to be worse for the fans, the spectacle will be worse so I'm hoping that's not the case."
The new Formula One season will begin at the end of March with the Australian Grand Prix. It is the first of 20 race weekends on the 2017 F1 calendar.
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