In his latest comments on the controversy from Canada, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has called for a rethink of the regulations.
The Austrian has been quite varied in his reaction to Sebastian Vettel’s five-second penalty in Montreal, initially suggesting he was “right” to be upset before later claiming the stewards were correct with their decision.
Now, Wolff is trying to toe the line by wanting the FIA to consider an approach which allows for more aggressive action on the track.
“The stewards decided was in accordance with the regulations but on the whole, I’m not happy with rules that prevent hard racing,” he told Speed Week.
“However, if we want different decisions from the stewards, then we need different rules and we have to make sure that the rules from 2021 allow hard racing.
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“I’d like to discuss this with the FIA, the teams and F1’s rights holders but without compromising on safety,” the Mercedes chief stated.
“My understanding is that the fans should experience the racers as gladiators in their high-tech machines. I want to see tough wheel-to-wheel fighting out there.
“The tricky thing is to draw the line between hard racing within the scope of what is permissible and bouncing to bumper cars level.
“Therefore we need an in-depth discussion about the question: how far should the drivers be allowed to go?”
This has been a question asked more in Formula E during Season 5 as drivers became more and more forceful in their moves on track.
A slightly more hardline stance was taken but there has still been enough leash allowed that the racing was still exciting.
In F1 too, the FIA and drivers met in Bahrain to discuss a ‘let them race’ approach but, certainly based on Canada, nothing has changed just yet.
