Mercedes boss Toto Wolff tells F1 critics to “hide” after Miami thriller
Mercedes' Toto Wolff thinks the Miami Grand Prix will silence many of F1's critics.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes anyone complaining about Formula 1’s tweaked regulations “should hide” after an entertaining Miami Grand Prix.
The new engine rules for 2026 have proven hugely divisive, with drivers and fans criticising the emphasis on energy management as well as taking aim at the racing for being too ‘artificial’.
F1 introduced a raft of tweaks to the rules in Miami to address some of the biggest concerns, particularly surrounding excessive lift and coast and "super clipping" in qualifying, and drastic closing speed differences in the races.
Sunday’s race in Miami was won by Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli after a see-saw battle that featured several lead changes.
"If there's one single person that complains about the race today, I think they should hide, honestly," Wolff told media including Crash.net in Miami.
"Now, obviously this track is a little bit easier, it's not so energy stuffed. There's good games and there's bad games, so I think that was great, great advertising for Formula 1.”
While the majority of drivers felt the amendments were a step in the right direction, there is a general consensus that more needs to be done to improve the new rules cycle.
There is talk of possible engine hardware changes as early as 2027 that could see a 60/40 split between internal combustion and electric power, instead of the near 50/50 split F1 moved to this year.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has pledged that F1 will abandon its controversial V6 hybrid engines and replace them with V8s in either 2030 or 2031.
Wolff has cautioned that it is too soon to start talking about major changes to the regulations.
“Whoever talks about changing engine regs in the short-term should question his way of assessing Formula 1 at that stage,” Wolff said.
"So spectacular race. Fight for the lead, fight in the midfield. It's splendid. Can we tweak it and optimise it in the midterm? I think absolutely. We would never be against making the show even better. I'm thinking about SM modes [straightline modes]. I think we need much more straightline speed with the SM modes. We need to be courageous on doing that.
"In the midterm we are not opposed. Whether we could extract a bit more performance out of the ICE... Great. Give us enough lead time so we can actually do it.”
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