Formula 1 doesn't need 2017 rules revamp anymore - Toto Wolff
Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has questioned the wisdom of the planned 2017 Formula 1 regulation changes at a time when the racing is finally coming good
The rules for 2017, featuring cars sporting different aero packages and with wider front and rear tyres, are due to be signed off at the end of the month.
Although Nico Rosberg has comfortably won 2016's opening three grands prix, the opposition has been closing, and the racing behind him is arguably the best it has been since the introduction of the current engine formula.
Wolff has long suggested there would be a convergence in performance of the power unit across the manufacturers, and that Mercedes would likely be unable to sustain the level of dominance it has enjoyed these past two years.
So when asked why the change was being introduced, he replied: "I don't know."
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He acknowledged Bernie Ecclestone's argument Mercedes' domination was bad for F1, but insisted letting the current rules settle into a fourth season was a much better bet than another revamp that could result in a single team mastering the new rules and pulling clear again.
"Even if it is uncomfortable for the commercial rights holder that we have been running away with lots of the races and two championships, the longer you keep the regulations stable the more the performance is going to converge between everybody and this is what is happening now," Wolff argued.
"The gains we are making are smaller because the curve flattens out, and the others are making bigger steps.
"We are having an ideal situation, with great racing and three great races in a row now.
"Are we capable of reacting quick enough and acknowledging that, and reverting to [keeping] regulations which seem to be OK now? I don't know."
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner acknowledges the racing this season has improved, with his own marque back on the podium at Shanghai with Daniil Kvyat after Daniel Ricciardo led early on.
But Horner is confident the new rules will further shake things up and should go ahead.
"I think the change is a positive change," he said.
"It's going to make the cars more dramatic, more challenging for the drivers to drive.
"It's not a totally clean sheet of paper, but it's a significant change so it will maybe shuffle the order up a bit.
"While the racing has been good this year, I think a shuffling of the pack is not a bad thing."
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