Abiteboul believes the championship's event format can be improved to increase its appeal for teams, drivers and fans.
The former Renault Formula 1 boss’ call to action came in response to comments made by Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera in the post event rally Sardinia press conference.
FEATURE: WRC Sardinia postcard
Rovanpera feels a fresh set of tyres specifically for the rally ending Power Stage should be handed out to avoid crews from having to tyre save on Sunday mornings and therefore improve the spectacle for fans.
“I think it is quite clear, the FIA has to make a rule to keep new tyres before the Power Stage,” said Rovanpera when asked about the frustration of tyre saving in the Rally Sardinia post-event press conference.
“I think it is not a big add to the cost and it is quite easy to make a tyre fitting zone before the Power Stage.
“Like in Portugal, it is the same thing, when there is no fight it feels bad for the fans. We are actually going very slow on the stage and you do it because everybody else does this also. It is not so nice for the fans and not for us either. I think that could be a solution.”
When asked by Autosport if he agreed with Rovanpera, Abiteboul went further suggesting that the entire weekend format should undergo a review.
“I think Sunday doesn’t work. I do not believe myself that only small fixes will address the problem that we have with Sunday." he said.
“I think l with the weekend format that culminates on Sunday is something that doesn’t work and I think we should review in general before trying to fix a problem that is a consequence of the Power Stage which was already a fix for another problem. I think we should have a fresh look at the weekend.
Source: Autosport