Alain Prost has admitted he was amazed when he tuned in on television to recent grands prix.
The four time world champion recently tested the Renault with which he contested the 1983 season, and said it was an eye-opener in contrast to the sport’s most recent races.
"I wonder now if the drivers are not too disconnected with a sense of risk," Prost told the French sports daily L’Equipe.
"In Belgium and Italy they seemed to be taking risks in the strangest places. When Webber overtook Alonso at Spa ... honestly. And the same with the pass of Vettel at Monza, with two wheels on the grass.
"You can get away with these things nine times, but the tenth ... I’d like to see them drive my car of 1983, just so they realise what they are doing," he added.
56-year-old Prost, who said becoming a team owner is the biggest regret of his career, said he would be "very frustrated" if he was a driver in today’s era.
"The driver was always important but it’s not the same now," said the Frenchman. "You can see it in the gaps between the teammates — sometimes it is a tenth now where in the past it could be a second or nearly two."
Prost is also critical of Michael Schumacher’s return to F1.
"If the goal was to return to be world champion, then it was ridiculous," he said. "If instead he said he was doing it to help Mercedes and Rosberg, then at least it might be seen as a noble gesture."