Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said anyone still complaining about the racing created by Formula 1’s new cars after the Miami Grand Prix “should hide.”
Formula 1’s new cars have been controversial this year, with the new emphasis on battery power boosts creating a new style of “yo-yo racing” featuring an increased number of overtakes.
Some critics have called that artificial -- four-time world champion Max Verstappen, one of the most outspoken of the drivers, said in March that anyone who enjoys the new style of Formula 1 does not really understand what racing is about.
Miami’s dramatic race -- won by Mercedes driver and championship leader Kimi Antonelli -- featured multiple lead changes and numerous back-and-forth battles for position.
“If there’s one single person that complains about the race today, I think they should hide, honestly,” Wolff told reporters after the Miami Grand Prix. “Now, obviously this track is a little bit easier, it’s not so energy stuffed. There’s good games and there’s bad games, so I think that was great, great advertising for Formula 1.”
Formula 1 had agreed on a package of minor rules tweaks in April ahead of the Miami Grand Prix to address some of the most pressing concerns of the new regulations.
Most of those were centered around qualifying, but there were tweaks addressed at lessening the affect known as “super-clipping” and to lessen the dramatic closing speeds drivers were encountering.
It is understood F1’s major stakeholders will consider wider changes for 2027 down the line.
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Most in the paddock expect F1 to move away from the near 50/50 split in the new V6 hybrid engines between combustion and electric power, likely to a 60/40 or 70/30 split in favour of the internal combustion engine [ICE].
Wolff said he is open to bigger changes if teams are given enough time to implement them.
“Whoever talks about changing engine regs in the short-term should question his way of assessing Formula 1 at that stage,” he said
“So spectacular race. Fight for the lead, fight in the midfield. It’s splendid. Can we tweak it and optimise it in the midterm? I think absolutely. We would never be against making the show even better. I’m thinking about SM modes [straightline modes]. I think we need much more straightline speed with the SM modes. We need to be courageous on doing that.
“In the midterm we are not opposed. Whether we could extract a bit more performance out of the ICE ... Great. Give us enough lead time so we can actually do it.”
