Fernando Alonso believes the technology and rules in Formula One are too complicated for the average fan at home as he prepares to face a 25-place grid penalty on a 20-car grid at the Austrian Grand Prix.

His view is backed up by the sport's CEO Bernie Ecclestone, who has also called for a simplified set of sporting regulations and less draconian penalties. The comments come during a weekend in which both McLaren drivers have notched up 25-place penalties on the grid for engine and gearbox changes and prepare to face in-race drive-through and stop-go penalties.

"We have cars that have technology that is too complex, especially for the people at home, they want to see cars racing and overtaking each other and fighting for positions, not saving tyres, saving fuel and talking about DRS, tokens and penalties," Alonso said. "The penalties we have on Sunday I guess are very difficult to understand at home, so there are things that are probably too complicated. Some of the rules are made by top engineers and top mathematicians and grandmothers at home don't care about this."

Ecclestone added: "I think we need to have very good look at all our sporting regulations. 'Don't go over the white line, don't do this, don't do that, if you change your engine you go back 25 places', it's not what the public understands. They don't understand, and when they do understand they don't care."

McLaren racing director Eric Boullier believes the sport was too ambitious when it set a limit of four power units per driver this year.

"First of all, they are the same for everybody and we have to take the penalties as everybody else should take them," Boullier said. "But when you come back a year ago and the introduction of the new engine and the other manufacturers were struggling after three years or more of development, I think we should have, as a Formula One community, a rule by this stage already because I think it was maybe a bit harsh and too ambitious to turn up with this technology and be reliable. Today we have to respect the rule and we are respecting the rule, but I find it sad for Formula One to have two world champions like Jenson and Fernando sitting at the back of the grid."