Toto Wolff has called for Red Bull’s sister team Alpha Tauri to face a full investigation after Yuki Tsunoda stopped on track twice at the Dutch Grand Prix. Wolff confirmed he would have taken a close look at the circumstances around Tsunoda’s retirement if Mercedes were battling for a title like last season.
Hamilton was closing in on Verstappen with fresher tires and was expected to stay ahead of the Dutchman when he came in for his second stop. However, a Virtual Safety Car played into the reigning champion’s hands with Verstappen managing to secure a free pitstop to emerge 12 seconds ahead of the Briton.
Tsunoda’s retirement was bizarre due to the confusion and mixed messages in his radio communication with the team. The Japanese star pulled off to the side of the circuit after complaining his tires were not correctly fitted.
He got going again and returned to the pits a lap later with the team only doing up his seat belts. But, he stopped and retired the car less than three corners later. Speaking after the race, Wolff said: “If we were fighting for a championship, this would be something I would look closely at.
READ MORE: ‘F3 teams are better’ Nico Rosberg calls out Ferrari disaster
“What needs to be investigated for the safety of drivers, and everybody out there, is that the driver stopped, unbuckled, did a full lap, came in; the problem wasn’t solved, they put the seatbelts back on and he drove out and stopped the car again.
“That probably changed the outcome of a race we maybe could have won. The simulation said Max would have come out eight seconds behind us and we would have had a fair shot, and the race planner said the win was on.
“Max would have caught Lewis about eight laps from the end. It would have been very close.” F1 fans were quick to point the finger at Red Bull with some social media users accusing the team of using Alpha Tauri to get an easy pitstop.
DON’T MISS
Lewis Hamilton responds to Yuki Tsunoda conspiracy theories [INSIGHT]
Max Verstappen has amazing Nico Rosberg F1 record in sight [ANALYSIS]
Lewis Hamilton blanks George Russell as anger boils at Dutch GP [COMMENT]
Tensions were stoked after images emerged of Red Bull strategist Hannah Schmitz smoking on the pit wall at the time of Tsunoda’s retirement. However, Hamilton hit back at fans making claims against Red Bull as he defended Schmitz.
He said: “The language and hateful comments directed at Red Bull’s head of strategy Hannah Schmitz is intolerable and should not be condoned. This sport is cut-throat and you have to be ready for absolutely anything, and that’s what she did today.
“There are a lot of positives to take from Lewis’ race today, and that’s exactly what we are focusing on doing.” The FIA later found Tsunoda did in fact have a differential issue which may have played a factor.
