Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has strongly criticised Moto GP riders who have expressed concerns about racing in Qatar this weekend.
The majority of riders have urged the motorcycle series to provide guarantees for their safety at this weekend’s round in the Middle East.The Moto GP race was originally due to take place in April but was postponed following the outbreak of war between the US and Iran. Fears over a possible resumption in hostilities have grown following the results of this week’s midterm elections in the US.
Four bikes are missing from this weekend’s event after Yamaha announced on Sunday it would not participate due to concerns over safety in the region. F1 is due to race at the track in three weeks’ time.
Wolff said he trusts FOM CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to judge whether it is safe for F1’s race to go ahead and claimed Moto GP riders are ignorant about the situation.
“Stefano and Mohammed have been pretty clear about the situation, that Formula 1 follows what the international guidelines are, whether there’s travel restrictions, airlines not flying, any warnings in the region,” said Wolff. “The kind of feedback that local governments are making, so not only the promoters, but what the local governance are making.
“This is what you need to rely on in my opinion. And I’m fully with that. I think that if riders stand up, that, geopolitically, know nothing about what’s going on, but have the audience that listens, I think that is something that creates media value.
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“But I would have done the same that Moto GP management has done. You want to ride or drive, go, if you don’t want to, don’t go, as simple as that. And everybody can take their personal decisions on that and I respect that.”
However Wolff admitted the situation could change. “Of course you’ve got to be wary of what’s happening in the next few days, a few weeks and Stefano has the finger on the pulse to monitor that. If things were to get more dangerous then he’s going to be the first one, together with Mohammed, to protect the people that were meant to travel. And so that’s why I’m following their guidance for what I’m hearing.”
He said no one within Mercedes has raised any concerns about travelling to Qatar. “Internally, it hasn’t been raised, it hasn’t been a topic.
“But also there, if someone feels he or she doesn’t feel comfortable in travelling, then it’s something that I would always respect and maybe that’s an opportunity to give somebody else a chance. It wouldn’t change anything for the relationship, I’ve always respected that some people didn’t want to go to certain grands prix and that’s how I see it at the moment.”
Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur echoed Wolff’s views on whether it is safe to race in Qatar. “I think that our organisation is quite robust, that I have full trust in the FIA and FOM and Stefano, and let’s see what we will do,” he said.
“Concerning the point that if we had questions internally: honestly, we are in the middle of nine races in eleven weeks, everybody is focused on the triple one. Perhaps the topic will come on the table a bit later, but it’s not the case today.
“In any case, we will respect the decision of the team member. If someone feels something and doesn’t want to come, then we will accept the decision.”
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