“If we have a good race it’s great, and if it’s disappointing it’s immediately a problem and therefore a topic of discussion,” the Austrian assessed the reactions after the boring Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Miami on Friday. “This sport is a bit manic-depressive at times.”
The race in Baku normally has a kind of chaos guarantee, but last week’s edition was not very exciting. The drivers immediately pointed to the DRS zone of the street circuit, which had been considerably shortened. This made overtaking more difficult.
The current cars would also make dueling more difficult due to all the developments of the teams and the high weight. “I think some things are being taken out of context,” Wolff said.
“There has to be a pattern first, with clear indications of what’s causing it. Too many questions are still unanswered. Maybe a longer DRS zone could have made the difference, but you can’t be sure.”
The drivers were quite unanimous against shorter DRS zones. Also in Miami, the FIA decided to shorten the zones in which the rear wing can be opened by 75 meters. The motorsport association does this on the basis of the number of overtaking actions in the race a year ago.
Especially in the busy midfield, the drivers in Baku struggled to make a successful overtaking action. McLaren team boss Zak Brown was not surprised. “This field is so close together. If you’re only a tenth faster, it’s difficult to overtake in any kind of motorsport. It’s still early in the year. Let’s take it easy.”
Despite the wait-and-see attitude, there is also misunderstanding among the team bosses about the shortening of the DRS zones. “100 meters off in Baku was perhaps a bit too much,” said Red Bull’s Christian Horner. “It was surprising that overtaking was so difficult. But some races are static and some are great. There is not one magic ingredient that depends on it. There are many variables. You see that in other sports too; football is not always fun.”
The 69-year-old Franz Tost of AlphaTauri summed up the situation soberly. “Formula 1 is very successful at the moment, so it’s going well. You don’t have to adjust something every five minutes. Then the fans just get distracted.”
