Vettel says Formula E 'not the future'

Formula One dominator Sebastian Vettel gave short shrift Saturday to the new, electric Formula E series, saying it would be far too quiet and was "not the future".

Five teams have already been signed for the planned field of 10 to race electric cars in city centres around the world, starting in Beijing next September.

"I don't like it at all, I think it's not the future," Vettel said at the Indian Grand Prix, where victory on Sunday will give him a fourth consecutive drivers title.

"I think people come here to feel Formula One and there is not much to feel when a car goes by and you don't even hear anything but the wind.

"Maybe I am very old-fashioned, but I think Formula One needs to scream, needs to be loud and there needs to be vibration."

Vettel said he will never forget the first time he went to Formula One in 1992 to watch a free practice at Hockenheim.

"Even though it was wet and the cars did not go out, once they did their installation laps it was a great feeling just to be there and hear them coming through the forest," he said.

However, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, who will start Sunday's race on the front row alongside pole-sitter Vettel, was more positive about the eco-friendly initiative.

"It's an interesting thing for sure, something new and I know there is a lot of interest," Rosberg said. "It's planned to be in cities (rather than normal circuits), so it's bringing the race to the people, not the people to the race.

"It's a bit of the future, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. We need to wait and see."