Wolff: We miss Bernie's 'hand grenades'

It was a strange way of putting it, but most people understood what Mercedes boss Toto Wolff meant when he said the sport misses former owner Bernie Ecclestone's 'hand grenades' this season as F1 transitioned to new ownership under Liberty Media.

Ecclestone role of almost total control over the sport came to an end this year as Liberty Media took over operations, with some of their decisions and regulation changes coming under intense scrutiny from observers.

Ecclestone still has a role which amounts to little more than a token position which offers him no sway over the decision-making process after four decades of being the main man in F1.

And speaking to the media after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Wolff admitted that not having the octogenarian around to pass comment in typical acerbic fashion was a little strange - though he was keen to add his support to what Liberty have planned for the future.

Wolff said: “12 months ago Bernie was around. We miss the odd hand grenade flying through the paddock, but this is new times and what we need to do is support the new owners and the management to grow Formula 1. I wouldn’t want to predict what will be in 12 months from now.

“There are quite some things that have been kicked off, some good, some less so to us, but most importantly we are all stakeholders of this fantastic sport and coming back in 12 months I would like to wish that this sport is growing in audiences and growing in fan appeal.”