Nico Rosberg is not sure what all the fuss is about.
This weekend in Austria, a palpable air of soul-searching has been evident in the paddock, as F1 muses the effect of the current ‘show’ on dwindling television audiences and nervous sponsors. According to some, the sport is leaping from kneejerk reaction to kneejerk reaction, with ‘megaphone’ and twin exhausts being tested to turn up the volume, and titanium plates mounted underneath the cars to light up fake sparks. Championship leader Rosberg said: “We must remain open and take the concerns and suggestions of the fans seriously. “Of course it would be nice if we had a little more noise,” the Mercedes driver is quoted by Speed Week, “but at the moment I don’t see any particular area that needs to be improved.”
When asked about the idea of standing restarts after safety car periods, which has reportedly been approved by the F1 Commission, Rosberg furrowed his brow. “Is that a proposal?” he asked reporters. “That sounds very extreme. “I understand that the start is one of the most exciting things for the fans, but I hope that will not happen. In my opinion it’s going too far. I like formula one as it is. “I would not welcome such a drastic change,” Rosberg added.
His Mercedes boss, Toto Wolff, agrees with Rosberg, hitting out at the atmosphere of ‘talking the sport down’ that has characterised much of 2014, and certainly this weekend in Austria. “We are in a fantastic new venue,” he said, “we have had some exciting races — we must talking stop talking ourselves down. “I cannot imagine any other sport that would start the press conference in the way like we do, just talking about what it not good,” said Wolff.
Image: Mercedes GP
