Alain Prost, once nicknamed 'The Professor' in F1 for his famously intellectual approach to racing, has admitted the sport is now too complicated.

F1's controversial rules are a hot topic at present, as spectator, sponsor and television numbers decline and major stakeholders like Bernie Ecclestone and Red Bull argue stridently for urgent reform.

"The cars today have perhaps become a bit too complicated," Frenchman Prost, the quadruple world champion and former teammate to legend Ayrton Senna, told Austrian Servus TV.

But the 60-year-old said that does not mean he thinks driving today's cars is therefore too easy.

"The most difficult thing is always extracting the last tenth," said Prost.

"But from the perspective of the audience, it is a bit different today," he admitted.

Prost said one obvious problem is that the drivers receive so much information over the radio about how to operate the highly-sophisticated cars, giving a "false impression" of their contribution at the wheel.

Another example, he said, is that DRS made overtaking look easy in Barcelona.

But "The task of the drivers remains difficult, as they have to think about so many things at once," insisted Prost.

"We do need to change a few things," he agreed.

"Personally, I am disappointed not by the engine itself, because technically it is fantastic," said Prost.

"But as a formula one fan it's not a matter of how much fuel is being saved -- they want a loud engine and for it to be the pinnacle of motor sport in terms of performance."

(GMM)