Whilst there are few earth-shaking rule changes this year, other than those relating to tyres, many still feel that in recent years the sport's powers that be have made F1 increasingly difficult to follow.

Indeed, the engine penalty points which regularly saw the McLaren duo clock up a thirty place penalty - on a twenty-car grid - made the sport something of a laughing stock.

In a timely move, Sebastian Vettel has taken to his own website to share his thoughts, the four-time world champion also warning that another season of Mercedes domination will further harm the sport.

"I think the sport should be in the spotlight and it should be about which driver is the fastest," he said. "Today the car plays an important role, as it did in the past. But we shouldn't get lost in over complicated rules.

"Our audience has to be able to identify with the cars again," he added. "At the moment F1 is just too complex and we're lacking sound."

Sharing thoughts that will no doubt please F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone, Vettel continued...

"The dominance of Mercedes in the past two years took away a lot of excitement for the fans. Plus the new rules focus too much on details. I think we have to be careful not to lose the roots of motor racing, I hope the cars of the future will be more within their grasp."

Although much is expected of the new Ferrari, which is launched on Friday, the German is giving little away, no doubt aware that Mercedes will have made its own improvements.

"It's no secret that we are not still there where we want to be, and there are things we need to improve," he admitted. "We know that our package was not strong enough to close in on Mercedes or overtake them, but we are working on it and we are on the right track."

Finally, he assured fans that he is at Ferrari for the long-term and is not eyeing a move any time soon.

"I'm very comfortable where I am now and I don't think about other options," he said. "I'm that kind of person who doesn't jump ship after just one year. I've never done such a thing before, in any area of life. I'm happy where I am, we have a common goal which we want to achieve together. Ferrari is special to me. Even as a small kid I dreamed about being a race driver for Ferrari."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by gturner38, 17/02/2016 22:48

"I still think the impact of the complexity of the rules is exaggerated, in part because there are people directly involved in the sport that seem very comfortable talking down the sport for their own benefit. I mean, nothing in F1 is as complicated as the WEC balancing different hybrid power levels, prorating those output numbers based off of Le Mans, and using a three lap average for fuel flow, yet I don't think a single sports car fan has ever thought about how close a car was running to that average except for the one or two momenta that a car suddenly slowed near the end of a lap. "

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2. Posted by Spindoctor, 17/02/2016 17:22

"All well & good, and frankly who can argue that F1's rules are vastly too complex, and stifle innovation?

However Seb is hardly in a position to bemoan the dominance of another team after his own dominance in the Newey designed RBR cars, which benefitted by exploiting complex rules in ways that others couldn't emulate."

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3. Posted by GrahamG, 16/02/2016 17:27

"Couldn't agree more, at every turn someone makes up another (invariably silly) rule and new and old enthusiasts turn away. One of the few decent comments Ron Dennis made was during the years of Ferrari domination when he said "don't penalise Ferrari, it's just the rest of us are not doing a good enough job" and there is a degree of that admission in what Seb says. However with rules designed specifically to stop people innovating and "doing a good job" we descend to where we are now. "

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4. Posted by Marshall, 16/02/2016 15:33

"f1 is not just about which driver is the fastest, but also which car. this complicates matters, i know, but it is the truth and vettel knows it.

two years of mercedes dominance. yes, two. after four years of red bull dominance and at least five of ferrari dominance. come on vettel. no need to whine like that.

you are right about the sound of the engines though, and about the formula being to complicated at the moment."

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5. Posted by Hobgoblin, 16/02/2016 8:40

""The dominance of Mercedes in the past two years took away a lot of excitement for the fans" - said the man who rode the crest of the Red Bull wave for four consecutive years.

At least he isn't asking for Mercedes to be hobbled I suppose."

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Vettel fears "complicated rules" are spoiling F1

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