F1 Bosses Call for Regulation Changes to End Red Bull Dominance
May 3 - Formula 1 might have to look at the regulations in order to make the sport more competitive amid Red Bull's current utter dominance.
That is the view of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, as his counterparts at Ferrari and Aston Martin also agree that the gap to the frontrunners appears insurmountable for now.
That is despite the fact that Mercedes will unveil a new sidepod design at Imola for its unique but flawed basic car concept that debuted in 2022.
"We are talking so much about the upgrade but we are not going to put it down on the track and drive circles around Red Bull," Wolff said.
Similarly, while Frederic Vasseur says Ferrari is "on the right track" with its recent improvements, Italian insider Leo Turrini thinks "the glass is still half empty" at Maranello.
"I sincerely do not understand why Ferrari still cannot find a balance between people and finances," he said on Quotidiano.
"Vasseur is solving this problem, but it's not just about signing the right experts. The team also must be more courageous in changing the ideology in order to make better technical decisions."
Aston Martin boss Mike Krack, meanwhile, thinks nothing will change in the short term in terms of trying to beat the two Red Bulls to the highest spots on the podium.
"We have a team that is well ahead of everyone," he said. "Only third place remains.
"We have to be positive, but we also have to be patient."
Mercedes' Wolff is careful not to actually blame Red Bull for the problem, but he said even F1's newly tweaked sprint weekend format did not spice up the Azerbaijan GP.
"It's about asking ourselves why it wasn't entertaining," he said.
"We basically have two cars that are sailing off into the sunset on merit. So we either have to do a better job, all of us together, to catch them up, or we have to change the regulations.
"And I don't think we should be doing the second. We have to win on merit and that means being more clever."
Opinions are divided as to how exactly Red Bull is the smartest team at present, but many think the extraordinary effectiveness of the DRS rear wing is a factor.
"If you're stuck in traffic, that's it," said Wolff. "None of us have a DRS as powerful as Red Bull's."
And at present, no rival team has figured out exactly how the Red Bull DRS works.
"We have to find out because this is a clear competitive advantage," said Vasseur.
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The story content doesn't seem to agree with the title, "F1 Bosses Call for Regulation Changes to End Red Bull Dominance." Per the story, the only one who even mentioned changing the rules was Toto Wolff, and he followed it up by saying he didn't think they should be changed.
The headline is indeed misleading.
That is what you call "taking the biscuit" merc has been dominent for the last six or more years & there was nothing much said then was there., all of a sudden RB has come back into play, & if I may say the only team with the backbone & the nerve to take on the big "I AM" Mercedes outfit with the attitude that says "why are we not winning were mercedes we have to win" what about the losers nobody gives a shite about them, on a treadmill getting nowhere and yes I would say it's time for change but don't pick on red bull just because they've broking mercedes reign.
TONTO WOLF should but out, go back and count the MILLION$ of DOLLAR$ he got when M/B was dominant
Toto planting the idea in the fia heads.............Listen to me I'm Toto, I know everything ............
This is historic reality in F1. In the past teams such as McLaren, Ferrari, Williams, Mercedes Benz have in different eras been way in front of everyone else, and there was the outcry from the others saying the regulations need to be changed. What really needs to happen is that the other teams and their designers / engineers must get their act together and identify why their cars are so far behind. They have dropped the ball and need to find their balance again.
Adrian Newey is a brilliant engineer and is the one keeping Red Bull ahead of all the others. The car is only as good as the designers and engineers make it.
Hopefully it will be the end of the DRS.
If you take away the DRS there will be no overtaking what so ever, the tracks are built for the use of DRS how could they possibly pass the car in front there's to many bends & the straights are not long enough,, maybe F1 should have their own indy track.
Overtaking would definitely still happen on the most overtaking-friendly circuits, but the opposite-end ones, i.e., Singapore, Hungaroring, Zandvoort, Imola, Montmelo, etc., & even Suzuka, would be another matter.
I discount Monaco because DRS or not makes zero difference there.
Sure there will be ovetaking. Hamilton passed several cars without DRS after the restart in Baku.
In my opinion DRS has nothing to do with racing. It's artificial overtaking that anyone can do.
Another Red Bull 1/2! I do not think DRS is the problem, but F1 has become boring! Now to put the cat among the pidgeons! Apart the from the first GP of the season each subsequent GP should be a full reverse grid of the previous race. This would eleminate qualifying of course. Mind you, with the speed of the cars Red Bull would still be 1/2, but at least they would have to fight a lot harder, but we might just get a more mixed podium!!
Whohhh there, just how many races did Merc win uncontested?
And when merc had there streak , and red bull , and renault and mcl , yawn yawn , Christian is stirring it for sure , without actually calling for it hes pressing on the fia,Those famous words we have the best facilities, the best people, the best drivers, now all he has is a big spoon and a pudding for a driver
Twisted words as usual Stroppo. The only big pudding with a spoon is you.🤓
If anyone is going to insist on a change of regulations it will be Liberty. F1 is a trial ground for new developments in engineering and its for the most part not a mass media entertainment so the excitement has to be concocted.
You could be right there, I mean they already let girls with hair extensions into f1, whats next pigtails?
Changing regulations for the sake of changing would be pointless, so others simply have to do a better job.
Red Bull's wind tunnel-CFD penalty will impact them further into the season & into next season's beginning, though.
Well he would say that wouldn't he.
This is just the usual piddling on about why we aren't as fast as they are. Happens every time leadership cycles to a different team. For those of us with a memory, the screeching was the loudest about Ferrari during the early 2000's, MB was a close second during the last decade. Now those two are the biggest whiners. Currently, RB does have one clear advantage. Adrian Newey. And now they have secured his employment.
That's the thing Ror, those with a memory, and you've outlined how it minus the sarcasm id usually provide, So is it going to wet this weekend or, could do with a wet race might spice things up a bit
Shrop', on any given day there is a 70-80% chance of rain during the late afternoon in southern Fla. The deluge usually lasts fo 30-90 minutes and then makes way for a great sunset. So, let's go with my usual great bets and say, no.
I'm loosing my BASHCAR fan persona and hoping for a series of crashes.
This seems to be a chapter out of Atlas Shrugged. Didn’t hear to much complaining when they were a dominate team. Maybe time for Toto and Lewis to go hand in hand into the sunset.
Then there would be an even greater gap between RB and the rest! Toto’s aim is to close the gap not change the rules as I am sure you know really Susan but where’s the fun in that you little tease.
The FIA has become a bloated bureaucracy - slow to react, monolithic in nature - whose only purpose is to create rules, by people who know little or nothing about the sport they are regulating. All too EU-ish for me.
Worse still is the inconsistent application of the rules come race-day. Too often, Mercedes have received preferential treatment while their rivals are docked with time or stop-and-go penalties.
Remove the budget caps, place limits on the dimensional envelope of the vehicle - and let the engineers and designers work their magic. I remember the Tyrrel P-34 and how it shook the paddock. Lets get innovative. F1 is getting too much like a spec-car race - like Indy. Essentially, the biggest difference is the engine.
Ang good for Toto for saying regulation changes aren't the way to go.
It seems the only team to have improved their car for this season so far is Aston Martin! Yes, Fernando makes a big difference, however, the car has improved out of sight! Of the "A Grade" teams, RB is way out in front, MB have gone backwards, Ferrari is in a hole, McLaren have lost their way, but Aston is strolling to the front of not only the grid, but the front of the results! They have been elevated to the "Premier League"!
This is a joke, right? When MB dominated for way too long, there was never a discussion about fairness to other teams, sounds like Atlas Shrugged. Toto home home and count your billions.