Singapore : Mercedes chief Toto Wolff’s idea of each team adding a third car to promote young talented drivers has received a mixed response from the Formula 1 fraternity.
During the previous race in Monza earlier this month, Wolff had proposed that a third car should be introduced for young drivers like Esteban Ocon, who doesn’t have a drive for next year despite doing well for Force India since joining them last year.
The other Mercedes-backed drivers whose future is uncertain is Pascal Wehrlein and Formula 2 Championship lead George Russell.
However, the likes of Red Bull and Sauber have already expressed apprehensions over the radical idea.
Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix here on Sunday, championship leader Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari, Brendon Hartley of Toro Rosso and Kevin Magnussen of Haas gave their varied opinions on the subject.
“I quite like the idea of more cars. More teams maybe, rather than three drivers in a team – would be a handful,” said reigning world champion Hamilton, endorsing the view of his team principal.
Former world champion Raikkonen said having three cars in each team can make things complicated.
“I think it would be nice to have a lot of cars but then, I don’t know. So many things that it will change. It’s pretty difficult to work it out,” said the Finn, who has been dropped by Ferrari for 2019 and will be returning to Sauber on a two-year deal.