For many Formula 1 drivers who have raced in the sport for a while, flaws with modern regulatory sets can be particularly apparent — and Lewis Hamilton has pointed out several.

The Scuderia Ferrari driver has raised some concerns about the direction F1 is trending in.

Lewis Hamilton doesn’t think F1 is going in “the right direction”

Last weekend, Lewis Hamilton experienced his first Grand Prix in Italy as a Formula 1 driver. For a driver who has achieved so much in his career, that kind of first-time experience can be almost unheard of.

But it did provide Hamilton with a moment of reflection.

In a feature interview with Sky Italia, Hamilton admitted that the year so far has been tough.

“This year, it’s been the busiest first half of the season I’ve ever had,” he said.

“The pressure, for sure, has been the highest, and the expectation for myself from everyone wanting so much.

“But when you’re faced with the reality is that we’re not fighting currently for the World Championship in terms of pure pace.”

Surrounded by a new environment, the seven-time champion admitted that he can forget about his previous accomplishments — and the struggles it took to get there.

“My first year at Mercedes, the first six months were difficult, too. It just wasn’t as big a hype as here, because this is Ferrari,” he said.

“The direction that I pushed the car and the setup worked well in China, and then we have to pull back on some things, and we’ve not been able to get there since.”

But the thing Hamilton is most concerned about?

The future of Formula 1.

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“I don’t think it’s going in the right direction, personally,” Hamilton told Sky Italia of Formula 1.

“Maybe I’ll be surprised next year. Maybe we arrive and the cars are really nice.”

But for the Briton, those are some big ‘maybes.’

“With the direction we’re going, we’re going slower. The cars are getting heavier,” he said.

“I mean, next year, I guess they are getting lighter, but this generation of car is the heaviest car that I’ve raced.”

And aside from speed and weight concerns, he’s also nostalgic for the visceral experience of Formula 1’s bygone eras.

Hamilton admitted, “For me, I miss the sound. When you hear a V12 Ferrari, it’s like, it’s the passion.

“Soon as we started with V6s — whilst it’s a good direction to go for the world in terms of sustainability, I think it’s been positive in that respect.

“But you can’t get away with the fact that the sound is not the same as it was when you watch Michael Schumacher’s car from 2003 come past, and it’s like, ‘ah!’”

Still, there are things that Lewis Hamilton is looking forward to, particularly as it comes to the evolving demographics of the sport.

“The thing that I’m most proud of is, I set up a foundation which is called Mission 44,” he said.

“We’re working with now 40 organizations throughout the UK. We have four in America and two in Brazil. It’s helping young kids, trying to transform young kids’ lives and give people from underprivileged backgrounds an opportunity to get into STEM, to realize that STEM can mean amazing jobs.

“Everywhere I go, still to this day, I don’t see anyone that looks like, y’know — very few people look like me.

“For example, the Formula 1 movie, diversity was an important topic. When I started talking about working on the movie, I was like, we need to show what F1 can be — should ultimately get to.

“It’s really important for people to see that, because if a kid sees that, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, what your gender is; if you can see it and say, ‘Oh, I could also be there,’ you believe it’s possible.”

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