After the Formula 1 Chinese GP, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff commented on Max Verstappen’s criticism of the current generation of cars in the category, describing the Dutchman’s current situation as a ‘horror show’, but highlighting that the category’s spectacle remains at a good level for the public.
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“Max really is in a ‘horror show’. When you look at his onboard camera in yesterday’s qualifying session, that car (from Red Bull Racing) is simply horrible to drive. You can see that, but it’s not the same for many other teams,” the Mercedes boss told GPblog.
Wolff, however, highlighted that the battles on track remain interesting: “From an entertainment point of view, I believe what we saw today between Ferrari and Mercedes was a good race with many overtakes. We have all seen Formula 1 where there were no overtakes, literally. Sometimes we are very nostalgic about the good old days. But I think the product is good in itself. We also saw plenty of racing in the midfield,” he said.
The executive further explained that Verstappen’s frustration is mainly linked to the car’s performance during the qualifying session: “That is positive. Now, from a driver’s point of view, when it comes to the maximum qualifying lap, that’s different. Clearly, for someone like Max, who goes all out, it’s hard to deal with, but it’s more of a car-specific problem that increases the feeling of difficulty. Because if you are in front of a TV, even Max would say that there were interesting battles at the front,” he added.
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“It would be great if it were possible to push to the maximum in qualifying sessions, but when we look at the fans and for the excitement that exists, the cheers during overtakes and also on social media, younger fans and most audiences really like the category nowadays. So, yes, we can always look to evolve, but at this moment, all indicators show that people love what they are seeing. And that’s why I spoke with Stefano (Domenicali, F1 CEO), he says that too. So, it’s the driving of the car that for some is not the most pleasant,” he completed.
Wolff’s statement shows a balance between acknowledging the difficulty faced by Verstappen and stating that Formula 1 maintains its competitive and entertainment appeal for fans, even with the current technical complexity of the cars.
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