Wolff calls for changes to "supermarket parking lot" tracks to spice up F1

Toto Wolff believes Formula 1 must make changes to the current crop of “oversized supermarket parking lot” tracks after a season that has opened the drivers’ eyes to the joys of racing on “classic” circuits such as Imola.

This weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has seen F1 return to Imola for the first time since 2006, and the drivers have been blown away by the excitement of driving at the legendary high-speed venue.

Asked if the experience could change the way the sport thinks about its calendar in the future, Wolff said: “I really like racing in Imola and I really the tracks where you are actually really penalised when you make a mistake.

“I’ve always been very vocal that I disagree with the direction we have taken with racing on oversized supermarket parking lots because it takes the factor of the driver and his skill away. “

Wolff, however, stopped short of suggesting the sport’s governing body should dispose of some of the newer venues, and suggested simple modification is all that is required for improvement.

“We need to bring gravel beds back to make sure that when you are flying off you can’t rejoin without any damage to your car,” said Wolff, who was himself a racing driver before moving into business and team management.

“I think probably you can adapt most of the circuits to that kind of standard, but these classic historic racetracks will always have soul. But again I am not a circuit designer, I’m just giving my feedback from what I’ve seen.”

F1 has raced at 13 new destinations since the turn of the millennium, but many of the newer circuits have been criticised for being sanitised and lacking the unpredictability of the older venues.

Bahrain is the oldest of the ‘new’ tracks on the calendar after making its debut in 2004 and has remained ever-present - except for 2011 - with Wolff believing even that track has now established itself as a modern classic.

“You can say that from the modern circuits, Bahrain also has a soul,” he added. “We have been in Bahrain for a long time…but maybe we just need to adapt the circuits in exactly the way I’ve described.”

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