Toto Wolff: Critics of Formula 1 should watch the Austrian Grand Prix

Austrian GP

Wolff: Critics of F1 should watch the Austrian GP

It was a thriller at the Red Bull Ring.

Martin Macdonald

Sunday 7 July 2019 13:30 Updated: 10:37

Toto Wolff believes that anyone who is critical of the current Formula 1 product should watch the Austrian Grand Prix before commenting.

This season, F1 has been labeled as boring and predictable by some, as up until last weekend Mercedes had won every single race either through Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas, with the French GP coming in for particular criticism due to the dull action.

However, after the raft of negative comments, the sport bounced back with a hugely entertaining Austrian GP in which Max Verstappen overtook Charles Leclerc with just two laps remaining to claim the flag in Red Bull’s home race.

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Wolff thinks that race shows what F1 can provide, and has warned the sport against doing a “Ratner” in reference to Gerald Ratner, head of the British jewellery company the Ratners Group, who famously played down the quality of his own products, resulting in major losses both financially and reputably.

"I think all the ones that used the polemic and the hardest words in their rhetoric should remember (this race) the next time they start to complain," Wolff told Motorsport.com about the race in Austria.

"We shouldn't be doing a ‘Ratner’ and talking our sport down when we have a next race where the sport is more than alive, but is spectacular, with a full crowd, with controversy on track, and some fantastic racing."

It may not have been a particularly successful weekend for Mercedes as Bottas finished third and Hamilton and fifth, but Wolff says he is happy for the sport even if his team were left disappointed, with both cars unable to prosper in the extreme heat on the track.

"I feel it's a very good day for F1,” he added.

"I really much enjoyed the hard racing and I think people have criticised that there's not enough hard racing, and that Mercedes were too far ahead.

"We've seen a different scenario, and whether they [Ferrari and Red Bull] have closed the gap, let's look at the next three races, totally different circuit layouts, totally different weather, and I hope we can come back to our strengths."