German rally champion legend Walter Rohrl has slammed the International Federation of Automobiles(FIA), newly crowned Formula 1 Champion Max Verstappen and Williams driver Nicholas Latifi.
This comes after a controversial Abu Dhabi GP season finale where Verstappen won the race after a controversial Safety Car which was brought out after Nicholas Latifi’s crash.
The 74-year old two-time rally champion will not be the first driver to criticise Michael Masi’s and the stewards decisions on the final laps of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix which changed the final outcome of the race.
“Now I know that in future I don’t have to waste a minute watching a Formula 1 race on television. I can save time and fool myself,” Rohrl told Straubinger Tagblatt newspaper.
Although an FIA hall of fame member, the German insists that races should be decided on the track or in a fair, clear process “that is not influenced by any opaque external decisions”.
But Rohrl even criticised “amateur driver” Nicholas Latifi for the crash that triggered the contentious safety car period and “decided the world championship”.
“It leaves such a bad aftertaste,” he said.
As for new world champion Verstappen, Rohrl described the Dutchman as an “ice-cold, characterless driver with disregard” for his rivals.
“But that’s exactly how you have to be in order to win,” he acknowledged.
