Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said that sprint races have not generated good competition because of the big performance gap between teams on the Formula One grid
Formula One has not been able to deliver a season in 2022 on a level remotely similar to last year. The titanic battle between Max Verstappen and Red Bull against Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes has left a taste of nostalgia. The Dutchman has dominated the current season, even if Charles Leclerc and Ferrari occasionally make a nuisance of themselves.
Mercedes, on the other hand, has become the third force on the grid. Toto Wolff, the German team boss, commented on the drop in race excitement after a sprint race with no major highlights in Austria, and believes that the wide performance disparity between the teams makes more battles on the track difficult.
"I think the reason why the races have generated less entertainment is that there is a very big performance gap between the teams. You have Verstappen shooting ahead, the two Ferraris being the only entertainment during the race, and us in the middle of a no-man's-land," explained the Austrian manager.
"Then the others are even further behind and you still have the DRS trains. That will never generate a good sprint race," criticized Wolff.
The performance gap between the teams shows up in the number of teams that have won and finished on the podium in the first 11 rounds. Only Ferrari and Red Bull occupied the top two positions, and only Mercedes and McLaren managed to get on the podium.
The sprint race in Austria was the second of three in the season. Imola hosted the first, and Interlagos will be the third circuit to use the format in 2022 after a good race last year, with Hamilton climbing the pack in São Paulo.
Formula 1 returns this Sunday (24) for the French GP at the Paul Ricard circuit.GRANDE PRÊMIO follows LIVE and INREAL TIME all the activities of the weekend.