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Mercedes Boss Toto Wolff Agrees: Formula 1 Too Predictable

Michael James

The Formula 1 circuit has become too predictable since the enforcement new rules in 2014.

The most watched sporting league in the world, the Barclays Premier League, is arguably as popular as Formula 1 because of its guaranteed entertainment and sheer unpredictability. Unfortunately, the same traits are not currently associated with the Formula 1 worlds.

Since rule changes in 2014, competition has been limited and even boss Bernie Ecclestone has labeled the sport he runs as “crap”.

Periods of domination aren’t always boring in Formula 1. Michael Schumacher’s years on dominance brought relentless excitement. But the late 1990’s were full of competitive races and podiums with new names. A the Mercedes domination at the top of Formula’ 1’s current hierarchy looks unlikely to change any time soon.

As such, the biggest questions of the 2015 season were often which of the two Mercedes drivers would win the championship, and who would finish third?

Formula 1 Changes Bring Predicatable Results

The rule changes in 2014 brought many new engines, and Mercedes has run away with race wins. Since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, it’s won 84.2 percent of the races, taken 94.7 percent of pole positions and scored 1,404 out of a possible 1,684 points.

The Formula 1 circuit has become too predictable since the enforcement new rules in 2014.
The Formula 1 circuit has become too predictable since the enforcement new rules in 2014.

Indeed, Lewis Hamilton has racked up the wins and now statistically the greatest British driver of all time.
But ahead of the 2016 season, new engine changes could be brought in to spice things up a little. Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff has admitted that he’s willing to “compromise” in 2016 for the benefit of the sport.

Formal F1’s four engine manufacturers are working toward making engines cheaper and louder after F1 bosses vetoed a proposed engine for lower budget teams.

Luckily, the Mercedes team boss understands the sport’s current predicament, and empathizes with Ecclestone’s outspoken views.

“His product is difficult to sell if you know before the start which driver or team is going to win,” said Wolff. “But equally, and he accepts this as he has said it many times, in our world we need to optimize on Mercedes’ performance. Now we need to align and find a compromise and ask what we can do to make it a little less predictable, give it a little more variability.”

Two key dates are coming up in F1’s political maneuvering. January 18th is the day engine manufacturers are expected to deliver proposals for making power-units cheaper, simpler, noisier and more freely available.

On January 31st, FIA president Jean Todt and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone will announce proposals to solve issues regarding engine power units and cost reduction.

 

Article Last Updated: January 18, 2016.

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