Mercedes F1 crew principal Toto Wolff believes Purple Bull’s “horror present” automotive was behind Max Verstappen’s newest guidelines rant after the Chinese language Grand Prix.
The four-time world champion has launched a brand new assault on the 2026 F1 automotive, branding those that benefit from the present racing product as not “actual followers”.
It follows continued criticism of the brand new automotive guidelines since pre-season testing and comes as Purple Bull’s marketing campaign will get off to a poor begin with this weekend’s Chinese language Grand Prix.
Mercedes and Ferrari are usually probably the most vocal supporters of the present guidelines, to this point preserving them out of the rostrum in 2026.
However Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes issues with the Purple Bull automotive are “amplifying” Verstappen’s fears in regards to the new guidelines.
“I feel Max is in a horror present,” Wolff informed the media in Shanghai on Sunday after Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s first win.
“In case you watched it onboard throughout qualifying yesterday, it was actually scary to drive and you’ll see that.
“However a number of different groups are usually not the identical. From an leisure viewpoint, I feel the match we noticed in the present day between Ferrari and Mercedes was an ideal race with a number of overtaking.”
“We have been all a part of F1 each time there was no overtaking, and generally we get too nostalgic for the great previous days.
“However I feel the product is nice and we noticed some good racing within the midfield.
“I feel that is a optimistic factor. From a driver’s viewpoint, when you could have an all-balls-out qualifying lap, it is totally different.”
“Clearly for a man like Max who’s all aggressive, lifting and coasting on qualifying laps is tough to take care of and digest.
“However I might say it is extra of a car-specific downside, and that makes it much more problematic, as a result of in the event you sit in entrance of the TV or the display screen, even Max will say that it was attention-grabbing to race on the entrance.”
Verstappen stated in China on Sunday that his views on the foundations could be the identical even when he was within the lead.
Wolff: All indicators level to new guidelines that followers will welcome
Wolff admits that the qualifying spectacle may very well be higher underneath the brand new rules, however believes the criticism being leveled at him doesn’t precisely mirror what followers suppose.
“It is nice to win all of the qualifiers, however once you take a look at the thrill of the followers stay, the cheers when passing, and the youthful followers on social media, the vast majority of the demographic loves the game in the intervening time,” he added.
“Sure, we will at all times take a look at how we will enhance it, however proper now all of the metrics and all the info present that folks find it irresistible.
“I talked to Stefano (Domenicali) and he stated that too. So for some folks, driving a automotive will not be probably the most snug factor.”
