Toto Wolff is hoping F1 will not become a spectacle of drama, and things like the Abu Dhabi GP result would not happen again.
Wolff was furious and absolutely livid at what happened at Yas Marina. Max Verstappen snatched the world championship away from Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the last race of the season. If that sounds overly dramatic to you, the Mercedes team principal would agree.
Not without drama and confusion over the late safety car procedures employed by race control did the lead of the race change and the Mercedes driver lose. It was an outright breaking of the rules, yet somehow it was done under questionable circumstances to guarantee a grandstand finish on the last lap.
With F1 seeing a large influx of fans from Netflix’s acclaimed and dramatic Drive to Survive documentary, the fanbase’s tastes seem to be undergoing a shift. While the sport is still hard and fast racing, the 2021 season interestingly saw an increased focus on drama.
Wolff is hoping F1 will not become a spectacle of drama and theatrics, and it will remain true to its principles and roots.
“I would never want to put such things in (the media) and I would never say such things because at the end, we provide entertainment but entertainment needs to follow sport and not the other way around,” he said, as quoted by GP Fans.
“The rules are the rules, the consistency of the application of the rules is important and no decision making should ever happen contrary to the rules just to spice up the action.”
No need for new layers
“We love Netflix and Drive to Survive,” he continued.
“(F1 CEO) Stefano Domenicali is doing a phenomenal job in marketing the sport and Stefano, as a true racer, would have no interest in interfering into the racing just for the entertainment factor.
“So, I cannot judge the pressures of the race director but in any case, we are so credible as a sport because it is sport and it is not wrestling.”
Read more: Wolff shuns Hamilton in G.O.A.T debate – “Nobody will ever be greater than Schumi”