German legend doubles down on scathing F1 rebuke

A motor racing legend has doubled down on his scathing opinion about modern Formula 1.

Immediately after the 2021 championship finale between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton ended in high controversy, German two-time rally world champion Walter Rohrl vowed to not "waste a minute" watching any more grands prix.

"I can save time and fool myself," said the 74-year-old.

Now, he admitted to Sport Bild magazine that his stance hasn’t changed, as he welcomed the FIA’s move to oust race director Michael Masi.

"Unfortunately, rightly so," said Rohrl. "I have no sympathy for such decisions," he added, referring to Masi’s handling of the fateful safety car period.

He is also no fan of Formula 1’s new regulations for 2022, with design freedom of the radically different ’ground effect’ cars limited by the FIA.

"I think equalising the performance is nonsense," Rohrl complained.

"It looks like they would prefer if they all crossed the finish line side by side in two rows of ten. For me, I have a different understanding of racing."

Even new world champion Verstappen is not safe from Rohrl’s tirade.

"He certainly drives a car very well, but as a driver he’s a brute. He drives like a wild axe in the forest," he said of the 24-year-old Dutchman.