Toto Wolff sends firm message to critics of new F1 rules: ‘Don’t badmouth the sport’

Toto Wolff has urged critics of F1’s new regulations not to “badmouth the sport” in public ahead of a crucial meeting on Monday.

New engine and chassis regulations this year, involving a near 50/50 engine split between internal combustion and electrical power, have resulted in major changes to the spectacle on a grand prix weekend. In qualifying, drivers are being forced to ‘lift-and-coast’ at the end of straights to harvest energy, while overtakes have been labelled “artificial” given the numerous overtaking aids available.

The likes of four-time world champion Max Verstappen and reigning world champion Lando Norris have been the most vociferous in their criticism, with Verstappen threatening to retire at the end of the season. On the flip side, Wolff’s Mercedes outfit lead the way, with three wins out of three and Kimi Antonelli and George Russell the top two in the world championship standings.

However, a meeting between stakeholders on Monday is expected to ratify tweaks to the regulations to improve flat-out driving in qualifying and safety concerns arising after Ollie Bearman’s crash in Japan. Yet in a lengthy answer on a media call on Monday, which amounted to an uninterrupted seven minutes, Wolff insisted “gamesmanship” should not be a factor in behind-the-scenes discussions on the sport’s immediate future.

“We need to understand our responsibility as guardians of this sport,” Wolff said. “We all have our opinions and that is absolutely legit. But these opinions and discussions should happen among stakeholders more than in the public eye.

“We have thousands of fans who love the sport, there are some who don’t like it [currently], but in order to protect the future, we shouldn’t badmouth the sport in public. We’ve all fallen foul of this in the past due to gamesmanship or to protect a situation. We need to be very careful.

“The impact comes with a lag. That’s the responsibility we have. We owe it to ourselves to express our opinion in the stakeholder group – this has happened in the last few weeks in a constructive way.”