2017 overtaking criticism ’crazy’ - Lauda

Niki Lauda has rubbished claims the 2017 rules have robbed formula one of overtaking.

While the faster and more aggressive looking cars have been generally hailed, some have lamented the fact that passing - already rare in F1 - has now almost completely disappeared.

"These people are crazy," Lauda, the F1 legend and Mercedes team boss, told the Times newspaper.

"These cars are proper racing cars. They do overtake and to count overtaking action to make an interesting race is stupid."

Force India deputy Bob Fernley agrees, saying that while the actual overtaking count may have gone down, passes are now more "impromptu" and less DRS-dependent, which is "exciting".

"I was concerned but those fears have been allayed," he said. "It’s definitely better than I thought it was going to be."