Formula 1 drivers today have no personalities and the only charisma surrounding current world champion Lewiᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚs Hamiltඣon is that of his Pussycat Doll pop star girlfriend - that is the outspoken view of 25-time grand prix-winner Niki Lauda.

The triple title-w♒inner - who famously came back from cheating death in a fireball at the N?rburgring in 1976 to clinch his third crown in 1984, seven years on from his previous one - argues that the safety of the sport thes♐e days and its PC nature has turned the drivers into faceless robots who lack the passion and character of those from his era.

"When I was racing, everyone was ready to drive over someone else to win," the Austrian told British newspaper the Daily Mirror. "Back then, death was always an option.

"Today's drivers have ♌no idea. Now they drive go꧋-karts until 18 and start an F1 career. They never have a chance to develop a personality."

The 59-year-old was particularly scathing about the sport's newest and youngest-ever world champion, quipping: "The only kind of charism𓄧a someone like Lewis Hamilton has is his girl Nicole Scherzinger."