Former F1 world champion Fernando Alonso has bemoaned the predictable nature of the sport ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

The Spanish driver has been one of the most consistent critics of what he sees as the unfair divide between the top teams and the rest of the field who face an almost impossible task in bridging that gap. 

The statistics support Alonso with practically every race in recent seasons being dominated by Mercedes and Ferrari with only Red Bull sporadically offering some competition. The domination of the top teams is so overwhelming that remarkably since the start of 2017, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez are the only two drivers, outside of the top three teams, to have finished on the podium.

It is a deeply worrying situation for the sport and it is clear that the veteran Alonso believes the relentless inevitability of the results are extremely harmful for the future of F1. He compares the impossibility of success for most teams competing in F1 races with the adrenaline rush generated by the unpredictable nature of other sports.

"There are 21 races, and we all know in this table what is going to happen in the next 14 races,'' he said, per Autosport. "This is very sad for the sport. So it's nothing against Formula One, it's nothing that I get tired or not. It's just, I know that I will come here and I will fight from seventh to 12th. I will finish the season in Abu Dhabi fighting from seventh to 12th.

"It doesn't matter your speed on that day, it doesn't matter your luck in qualifying, it doesn't matter how you set up the car or how things go into your way or against your way in that weekend.

"You can improve a couple of positions, you can finish fifth, you can get a podium like Force India in Baku, or something like that, but it doesn't change the overall outcome of the championship.

"That's probably unique in this series in motorsport and at the same time in sport in general, you can play basketball and one night you have a magic night, you score 80 points, and maybe you win the game together with your teammates or in soccer or with the World Cup. There are a couple of favourites, but no one can guarantee that Germany, Brazil, Spain will win the cup. Maybe, but maybe not. While here, everyone can guarantee that Mercedes, or Ferrari, will win the race.''

The McLaren driver's exasperation at the state of the sport he loves has perhaps convinced him to look elsewhere for success and his participation in the upcoming Le Mans 24 hour race follows on from his foray into Indycar racing in last year's Indy500.

He will go into the Le Mans event feeling he has a chance to compete, something he has sadly not felt for a long time in the sport to which he has given so much.

It's unlikely he is the only driver who feels this way and there's no doubt the sport's owners Liberty Media will have to do more to make races more competitive to ensure they keep hold of big names such as Alonso in the future.

"Probably it will never change. This has been Formula 1 for many years," he continued.

"I remember in 2009 with Renault that we were not very competitive and we still did some practice or qualifying runs because we wanted to test the tyres and something like that, and we were P1.

"It was nothing, but it was some gift for the mechanics and for the motivation and for the sponsors. Now we can do whatever and we will not be P1, because the differences are huge.

"Even if the machine was the biggest percentage on the result there were still some days, or some tactics by the team, with short fuel for qualy or maybe a gamble for the race.

"Now it's just a train of cars every two weeks."