Toto Wolff states that he is pleased to see a Formula 1 Race Director apply the regulations during the late-race Safety Car period at Monza.
The comment comes following the controversial end to last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which saw Lewis Hamilton overtaken on the last lap by Max Verstappen, which decided the outcome of the championship.
Former F1 Race Director Michael Masi was heavily criticised for how he handled the Safety Car restart on that occasion, and he vacated the role ahead of the 2022 campaign.
At the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday, the race ended behind the Safety Car following an on-track stoppage for Daniel Ricciardo.
The incident has been met with a split opinion – however Wolff says that he’s happy to see Neils Wittich, who is acting as Race Director this weekend, act within the regulations.
“I’m really satisfied to see that there is a Race Director and colleagues that apply the regulations against the pressure of the media, and the pressure of the fans and everybody to just be in breach of the regulations,” he said.
“So at least Abu Dhabi, in that sense, gave the FIA more robust confidence to apply regulations.”
Wolff says that he would have no issue with the race being red flagged before restarting for a handful of laps – but insists it needs to be introduced into the regulations first.
“There is rules and they are written down and from my perspective, whether I’m Abu Dhabi traumatized or not, these rules have been followed to the dot today,” he said.
“There was a car out on track, there was marshals, and a crane out there. That’s why they didn’t let anybody overtake.
“And then it was not enough time to restart the race once all cars crashed out. So if one is not happy with the regulations, and you want to have a big bang show and two laps of racing and mayhem, I think I’m absolutely up for it.
“But then we need to change the regulations. So I don’t think we should complain about anything that happened because this is the rules.”
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