Motorsport: Hamilton fires shot at Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton celebrates with his team after winning the World Championship. Photo / Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton has accused Formula One of being "outdated" and has called on its new owners to breathe fresh life into the sport.

Hamilton, who is set to start his 11th season in Formula One, will join forces with Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas on Friday to unveil the car which they hope will continue to be the dominant force on the grid.

But on the eve of tomorrow's launch at Silverstone, the 32-year-old Briton believes Formula One must improve and has accused it of falling behind its sporting rivals.

Bernie Ecclestone was deposed as F1's long-time ruler last month following American giants Liberty Media's AGBP6.4billion purchase of the sport.

"I don't feel Formula One is winning, and it hasn't been for a long time," said Hamilton in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live.

"That is to do with rule changes and not engaging the fans enough.

"There still is a great following in Formula One and I am excited for the new owners coming in and I hope they do something new.

"Formula One is a bit outdated in the sense of, if you look at other sports, they are further ahead in the entertainment factor. Formula One is really catching up and they have a lot of catching up to do."

The sport has undergone a radical overhaul of its technical regulations over the winter in a bid to spice up the show.

The cars will be wider, bigger and faster this season with lap times expected to tumble by up to five seconds a lap but Hamiltonfears the new rules could have a detrimental effect on the racing.

"My engineers say it's going to be a lot harder to overtake this year," Hamilton added. "If we see overtaking is worse, it's going to be worse for the fans, and the spectacle will be worse so I'm hoping that's not the case.

"I really hope that the engineers, who are the smartest guys, are wrong."