Charlie Whiting believes the decline in overtaking manoeuvres in 2017 highlighted just how big a gulf there is between the top three teams and the rest of the field, and he felt the aerodynamic regulations were not to blame.
The Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, Scuderia Ferrari and Red Bull Racing shared all of the victories during 2017, and only Lance Stroll from the Williams Martini Racing squad denied the three teams a clean sweep of the podium positions thanks to his third place finish in the crazy Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
FIA Director Whiting believes the fact that Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull have done so much better with their cars compared to their rivals is the primary reason for the gap between them, rather than the regulations, although this problem is far from a new one within Formula 1.
“I don’t think closer racing is the issue, and I don’t think the cars are the problem,” said Whiting to the New York Times.
“The biggest problem we’ve had this year is that it’s clear the big three teams – if you want to call them that – in Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull are significantly quicker than the rest.
“I don’t think the racing has been bad, it’s just that some have done a significantly better job than others, which is nothing new in Formula 1.”
