(Reuters) – Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff suggested on Saturday that Aston Martin may pay a price for changes to Formula 1 rules that may be aimed at slowing down their own dominant team.
Silverstone-based Aston Martin, who is closely associated with champion Mercedes, has complained that aerodynamic improvements have affected their low-rake cars more than high-rake Red Bulls.
High-rake cars drive higher at the rear, while the Aston Martin and Mercedes lie flatter on the ground and impede airflow.
Angry Aston Martin boss Otmar Szafnauer said Friday he wanted to speak to the Formula 1 governing body about changing aerodynamic rules – something highly unlikely.
“I understand the subject,” Wolff told reporters after his seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified from pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday with Red Bull in second and third place.
“How the rules were implemented last year, one can always question what the motivation was,” added the Austrian. “I think there is certainly a right to review, look at and discuss things with the FIA to find out what actually happened.
“So I respect Aston Martin’s investigation into the whole thing. Maybe things were aimed at us and it is collateral damage.”
This year’s cars are essentially the same as last season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, key changes have been postponed to 2022, but aerodynamic changes on the ground have proven to be significant.
Mercedes technical director James Allison said in January that the modifications, some just a few millimeters, were due to the risk that the car’s performance would be too high for the tires and some aspects of the circuit.
Mercedes has won the last seven driver and constructor competitions, with Hamilton now the most successful driver of all time.
However, Red Bull has moved up a gear. Mercedes said its Honda rivals now have the faster car.
Aston Martin, with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, appears to have fallen back in pecking order after finishing fourth as Racing Point last year.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Clare Fallon)
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