After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is concerned about the boredom in Formula 1 and the huge gap in the field to Red Bull.
“It wasn’t a thriller. There were hardly any overtaking manoeuvres, despite the big differences in speed. It wasn’t much entertainment,” said the Austrian. “Even if you’re within 0.2 seconds, it’s almost impossible to overtake if the driver in front of you doesn’t make a mistake.”
Wolff rejected a swan song to the rule changes of 2022. “After a race weekend like this, we don’t have to talk everything to pieces and get overwhelmed,” said the 51-year-old.
Nevertheless, he warned: “It’s about asking yourself why it wasn’t entertaining. We have to see how we can prevent such boring races.”
Formula 1: Red Bull dominates 2023 season
In Baku, Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari started from pole position. However, the two Red Bulls once again clearly dominated the race.
Sergio Perez won ahead of teammate Max Verstappen. Leclerc’s gap to third was ultimately more than 21 seconds.
“Two cars drive lonely into the sunset and there’s a 20-second gap. I don’t even know who was faster from Aston Martin, Ferrari and us because you can’t get away from where you’re stuck,” said Wolff .
After four races in the 2023 season and four victories by Red Bull (perez twice, max verstappen twice), the balance of power in formula 1 is cemented for the time being.
“We see a pattern. There are two Red Bulls, behind them there are six cars and then the rest of the field comes far away. That was the pattern of the first four races and we have to change that somehow,” said Wolff.
Formula 1 catch-up race? Toto Wolff wants to “be smarter” than Red Bull
The Mercedes boss calculated that Leclerc lost around half a second per lap to the Red Bulls. “At least they were pushing, so that’s their true pace. But half a second is a lot.”
Wolff added: “We either have to do a better job all together to catch them or change the regulations. I don’t think we should do the latter. We simply have to win based on our performance and that means being smarter than Red Bull .”