Toto Wolff was not very kind with his words on FIA’s decision to not penalize Max Verstappen for pushing Lewis Hamilton off track in Brazil.
Verstappen and Hamilton are in the middle of an intense fight for the Championship this season. The two drivers came close to making contact at the Sao Paolo GP on Sunday. At the end of the second DRS zone, they came wheel to wheel and the British driver was ‘squeezed off track’.
The entire Mercedes team felt that a penalty was due for Max. However, Michael Masi and the FIA stewards came to a decision that no investigation was necessary. Hamilton drove one of his best races on Sunday. He started from 10th but fought his way up the field to take his 6th victory of 2021. He did this in spite of “questionable defending” tactics from Max Verstappen.
Also read: English broadcaster mocks Red Bull ace after his defeat against Lewis Hamilton in Brazil
The 24-year-old has a 14 point advantage over Hamilton in the Driver’s standings as things stand.
It should have been a 5 second penalty at least, says Toto Wolff
The Mercedes team principal remains adamant that the Dutchman should have received a penalty for his actions.
“That was just over the line – should have been a five-second penalty at least – and probably Max knew that. Just brushing it under the carpet is just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, it’s laughable.” he said.
“I mean the whole weekend went against us. We had a broken part on our rear wing which we couldn’t look at, couldn’t analyze. And after that we were disqualified – very harsh.”
“And after you see Red Bull repair three times on the rear wing whilst being in Parc Ferme, with no consequence. That’s one thing and obviously, that really peaked when the decision in the race, which was really strong defense from Max.”
“Absolutely an inch over the limit, but he needed to defend. But Lewis just managed it even more brilliantly by avoiding the contact and end the race that way.” the Mercedes boss said.
Mercedes extend their lead over Red Bull to 11 points with a double podium finish in Brazil. The Silver Arrows seem to have found a lot of extra pace in the straight lines. That will suit them a lot going into the last three races of the season in Qatar, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi.
