Who cares if races are boring, says Vettel

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has been discussing the hot topic of overtaking once again, with the German insisting that commentators need to 'calm down' and that the art of passing another driver needs to be earned and not simply a given.

Figures released by tyre manufacturer Pirelli made for grim reading for F1 fans looking to witness plenty of passing manoeuvres; a total of 435 passes were recorded in 2017, down by almost 50% from the 2016 season.

The figures call into question some regulations, particularly the introduction of DRS, but Vettel reckons that the constant debate over the issue is 'boring' and that the reward of overtaking is all the sweeter if there is difficulty in doing so.

He said: "[My] wishes for next year is that everybody calms down. Some races are boring, so what? I don't see the problem in that. I don't think we need another record, another record every race, to have more overtaking and more overtaking.

"It's true that [difficulty in] overtaking sometimes, especially if you're behind and you're fast and you can't get past for those reasons, it annoys you.

"But then again if you make the move there is a massive reward inside the car, sometimes out of the car. What I want to say is that overtaking should be an achievement and not handed to you.

"Sometimes just relax and calm down and accept a boring race or a boring two races in a row and then there will be another great race after that and another one."

The topic was taken up by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who believes changes in the widths of the cars has played a detrimental role in driver's ability to pass effectively.

He stated: "I think the wider cars and all that look great and they've given us more downforce and grip but when they take up more space on the track you have less clean air to try to find so it does make following harder so that one is good and bad."