Azerbaijan Grand Prix: Toto Wolff warning after 'boring' Baku race

1 year ago 33

The opening of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Toto Wolff says Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix was "boring" and Formula 1 needs look astatine what to bash astir it.

"It was not a thriller," the Mercedes squad main said. "No overtaking, adjacent with a large gait difference, made it not large entertainment.

"Even if you are wrong 0.2secs, it is astir intolerable to overtake unless the different operator makes a mistake."

However, Wolff stopped abbreviated of saying the caller rules introduced successful 2022 were astatine fault.

"After a contention play similar this, we mustn't speech it down wide and accidental it is the incorrect absorption and we request to alteration completely," helium said.

"It is much astir asking wherefore wasn't it entertaining, and revisit it.

"We request to look astatine however we tin debar a boring race."

Was the caller sprint format to blame?

The lawsuit successful Baku was the archetypal tally to a revised 'sprint' format.

It introduced a 2nd qualifying league that decided the grid for the sprint - a shorter contention connected Saturday - which has been separated retired wholly from the main expansive prix. Previously, the effect of the sprint decided the grid for the main race.

The sprint format has met with a mixed response. Red Bull's Max Verstappen said helium felt the full thought "should beryllium scrapped", portion different drivers said they liked the caller operation for the weekend, adjacent if they wanted it to beryllium constricted to conscionable a fistful of events a year.

Wolff pointed retired that the lone enactment adjacent to the beforehand was a collision betwixt Verstappen and Mercedes' George Russell that ended with the drivers having a verbal altercation successful the pit lane.

Wolff said: "We person to analyse the play with the sprint format whether determination are positives that we tin instrumentality out, but successful the extremity it each comes down to racing.

"It needs the pugnacious battles and the item [on Saturday] was George and Max being capable to conflict it retired and [in the expansive prix] determination was nary of that," Wolff said.

Are the caller rules a factor?

Wolff's comments travel astatine a clip erstwhile F1 teams and drivers are saying that overtaking has go much difficult.

Last season, F1 introduced rules aimed astatine closing up the tract and making overtaking easier.

While it is inactive easier to travel than it was earlier the regularisation change, drivers person said that it is tougher this twelvemonth arsenic a effect of the teams processing their cars.

And portion drivers person reported that the caller rules person made it easier to travel than earlier 2022, this has been counter-balanced by a simplification of the slipstream effect down different car.

And acold from the racing becoming much competitive, the athletics finds itself successful a concern wherever 1 squad is dominating.

Verstappen acceptable a caller grounds for wins successful a azygous play successful 2022, portion Red Bull person won each 4 races truthful acold this play and are connected people to monopolise the championship.

Wolff said: "You person 2 cars sailing disconnected into the sunset connected merit and determination is simply a 20-second gap, and I wouldn't cognize betwixt Aston Martin and Ferrari and america who was quicker due to the fact that you are stuck wherever you are stuck and that is beauteous overmuch it."

Part of the doctrine of allowing cars to tally person unneurotic was fundamentally changing the mode the cars make their performance. F1 adopted a improvement known arsenic 'ground effect', which uses underbody tunnels to make downforce.

This plan requires a car to beryllium tally precise level and stiff for optimum performance.

Red Bull look to person stolen a march connected their rivals with a overmuch much effectual mode of controlling what is known arsenic the 'platform' of the car, reducing its question connected axes beforehand to backmost and broadside to broadside and truthful allowing it to make much accordant downforce.

Wolff said that Mercedes' deficiency of show was "more astir thrust power than sheer downforce".

"You tin spot their car is hardly moving, beryllium it connected straights oregon implicit bumps," Wolff said of the Red Bull. "Corner-through equilibrium looks easy. You look astatine each the different onboards and the cars are tricky. Generally ground-effect cars are rubbish cars, it is conscionable who has the slightest rubbish is ahead."

However, helium said it was the work of the different teams to drawback up with Red Bull.

"We spot a pattern," Wolff said. "There are 2 Red Bulls, and past determination are six cars, and a agelong mode disconnected is the 3rd division. That has been the signifier the archetypal 4 races and we person to shingle that up somehow.

"They were 20 seconds up of [Ferrari's Charles] Leclerc aft 40 racing laps, truthful it is fractional a 2nd a lap. At slightest we person seen they were pushing truthful that is the existent pace. Half a 2nd is rather a agelong mode to go.

"We either person to bash a amended occupation each of america unneurotic to drawback them oregon alteration the regulations, and I don't deliberation we should beryllium doing the 2nd one. We conscionable request to triumph connected merit and that means being much clever than Red Bull."

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