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As Max Verstappen doubles down on his criticism of the rules overhaul, Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff suggests it is down to the Dutchman’s lack of a competitive car.
To be fair, early last year the four-time world champion was warning how things would play out, with the need for drivers to slow on straights in order to store energy, clearly he wasn’t wrong.
While the cars are clearly much better than before, and capable of some decent, close racing, it is the whole energy management system that is spoiling it for many drivers and fans alike.
Verstappen was critical in pre-season testing, then in Australia and again in China, and while some have put this down to sour grapes because he isn’t winning, many agree with him.
However, there are a few exceptions, mainly members of the media scared of losing their passes, broadcasters fearful of losing subscribers and members of those teams that appear to have got the rules overhaul right.
“Max is really, I think, in a horror show,” says Wolff, whose drivers have locked-out the front row at both the opening races and gone on to score 1-2s, not to mention George Russell’s Sprint win in China.
“When you look at the onboard that he has in qualifying, this is just horrendous to drive,” adds the Austrian. “You can see that.
“But it’s not the same with many other teams. I think from an entertainment perspective, I believe that what we’ve seen between Ferrari and Mercedes was good racing. Many overtakes.
“We were all part of Formula 1 where there was no overtake, literally,” he adds. “Sometimes we’re too nostalgic about the good old years. But I think the product is good in itself. We saw quite some racing in the midfield also. And that is, I think, the positive.
“Now, from a driver’s standpoint, when it comes to the balls-out qualifying lap, that is different,” he admits. “Clearly, lifting costs in the qualifying and I’m sure for someone like Max, who is a full-attack guy, it’s difficult to cope and digest. But it’s more, I would say, a car-specific issue that magnifies the problem than it is. Because if you sit in front of a TV or in front of a screen, even Max would say that was interesting racing in the front.”
While Verstappen and others have compared this season’s ‘racing’ to Mario Kart, Fernando Alonso has referred to it as a “world championship of batteries”, no doubt causing F1 to seek out Duracell as a potential sponsor and the Duracell Bunny as another means of attracting kids to the series.
“Qualifying flat-out would be nice,” says Wolff, who appears to have forgotten tat qualifying is meant to be about who can be fastest. “But when you look at the fans and the excitement that is there, live, the cheering when there’s overtakes, and also on social media, the younger fans, the vast majority, through all the demographics, like the sport at the moment.”
What Wolff appears to ignore is that the criticism in terms of overtaking is that it is mostly fake, it is not one driver out-braking a rival, or making a balls-out pass around the outside, most of the passes this year have been about drivers changing position as one stores energy and another releases it. Basing his belief in the success of F1 2026 purely on the number of overtakes is like claiming that nothing happened in a 0-0 football (soccer) match.
“Yes, we can always look at how we’re improving it,” says the Austrian, “but at the moment, all the indicators say and all the data say people love it. And I spoke with Stefano, he says that too. So it is driving the car that, for some, is not most pleasant.”
No doubt all those fans already delirious at the racing the rules overhaul has produced will be delighted to hear the latest news from Silverstone regarding the British Grand Prix, where “Richard Ashcroft, Chase & Status and Rag’n’Bone Man will headline the M&S Mainstage, joining previously announced David Guetta from 2-5 July, with supporting acts include Anne-Marie, Alex James’ Britpop Classical, Jazzy and Vikkstar (DJ set)”.
“The British Grand Prix has become far more than a race weekend,” we are advised in a press release. “It is now a full-scale cultural moment, and one of the few events where world-class motorsport and world-class live music meet in front of one of the UK’s biggest annual sporting crowds.”
Stefano Domenicali and Zak Brown’s vision of race weekends taking on the format of min-Super Bowls, right down to a mid-race concert, are increasingly looking likely to become reality.
