Rosberg: F1 radio clampdown the right decision for fans

A move by the FIA to limit team help for drivers has resulted in a host of rule changes for 2016, including more manual starts and a big clampdown on what can be said over the radio.

Having triumphed in Melbourne as he overcame brake overheating issues without assistance from his team, Rosberg says that competing under the new criteria was actually better than before.

“I think the direction is good, that we've taken - to give ourselves more responsibility in the race,” he explained.

“It's a good challenge, tough challenge but good - and most important is that the fans, everybody who's supporting us, you know - I think the most important is that they think it's the right direction.

“I think that's what they wanted, because they were saying all these instructions on the radio got just annoying - so it's great.”

Right balance

Mercedes revealed after the weekend how big a change there had been with the new radio rules.

The German manufacturer only issued eight messages between the pit wall and the drivers – compared to the 21 it recorded in 2015.

For the whole of the grid, there were 48 messages relayed during the season opener compared to the 93 that happened in 2015.

There had been a lot of discussion over the weekend between the teams and the FIA about what should and should not be allowed, and at the last-minute it was agreed that limited strategy calls would be okay.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner was one who welcomed that late change, which he thinks helped deliver the right balance between making it hard for drivers but also delivering information for fans.

“There’s less traffic,” he said. “I think it was good that they were allowed to talk about strategic stuff, because that’s part of being a team sport. And tactics. That’s great if the viewers get an insight into that.

“Telling a driver how to drive a car, I agree completely that’s not what Formula 1 should be. But the tactics of strategy, in a team sport, is quite fascinating. And [it was] good that it was allowed before the race.”