Fernando Alonso thinks Formula 1 has abandoned two rule changes that made racing ‘more exciting’

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No driver in the history of Formula 1 has seen more changes take place in the sport during their time on track than Fernando Alonso.

Twenty-five years after making his debut with Minardi, Fernando Alonso is preparing for another campaign with Aston Martin.

The two-time world champion is showing no signs of slowing down, beating teammate Lance Stroll 24-0 in qualifying last season.

The 2026 F1 season marks the 20th anniversary of his second championship win with Renault, beating the great Michael Schumacher by 13 points.

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In that time, Formula 1 has gone through several different eras of rules and regulations.

When Alonso first started racing in F1, there was still a one-hour qualifying session and a warm-up session on a Sunday morning.

Now, the Spaniard has been looking back on his career, alongside his old team principal Flavio Briatore, and pointed out two rule changes that Formula 1 has moved away from that made racing ‘more exciting’.

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2

Fernando Alonso says refuelling and no tyre changes made Formula 1 ‘more exciting’

Alonso was speaking on the Bravissimo documentary by DAZN, and explained: “The regulations were very different from today’s. We had only one set of tyres and refuelling, which forced you to come up with strategies.

“Every Sunday, you had to anticipate many things. That made everything much more exciting.

“In addition, we were fighting against a giant like McLaren. They were a tad faster.

“We knew that the McLarens were a little faster than us, but they had reliability issues. My concern was to take advantage of every opportunity, because we knew there would be weekends when we would lose points.

“All these years have gone by so quickly because it has always been a continuation of those wonderful years. That’s why I’m still racing. I still enjoy it as much as I did in 2005.”

Talking about Alonso, who he still manages despite working as an advisor for rivals Alpine, Briatore added: “He replaced Jenson Button, and many criticised him for being young and inexperienced, but I believed in him.

“I was sure he was special. Over time, you realise that he wasn’t just special, he was more than that. And it’s only natural that he became world champion.

“It was the moment when everyone really got to know Fernando Alonso. Not only because he won the World Championship, but because of how he won it. We did it with authority. In 2005, we didn’t just win a World Championship. We also got Spain to discover F1.”

READ MORE: All to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage

Why Formula 1 decided to end refuelling at pit stops and reintroduce tyre changes

Formula 1’s rules of tyre changes and refuelling have changed plenty of times during the sport’s 75-year history.

Refuelling has been banned during F1 races since 2010 due to safety concerns, with fuel tanks made bigger the following season to accommodate the change in regulations.

Jos Verstappen’s Benetton famously caught fire during a pit stop at the 1994 German Grand Prix.

Benetton had been accused of cheating by Ayrton Senna that year, but in a separate incident, a system introduced to try and transfer fuel into the car faster to save time, malfunctioned, creating an inferno in the pit lane.

Kimi Raikkonen was also burned in an incident involving Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren in 2009, bringing an end to refuelling during races.

The ban on changing tyres during a race only lasted for one season, when Alonso won his first championship in 2005.

The controversial 2005 United States Grand Prix, where every car using Michelin tyres was banned from competing, saw F1’s popularity across the Atlantic tank and the rule was scrapped the following season.

Pirelli have recently introduced a mandatory two-stop rule for races in Monaco and Qatar, moving even further away from the regulations that saw Alonso become an F1 world champion.