Lewis Hamilton claimed victory at Interlagos after recovering from his qualifying exclusion due to a technical defect on Friday to reduce Max Verstappen’s lead in the standings.
Hamilton was robbed of P1 in qualifying after his car’s DRS failed the FIA’s post-session check. Calling the decision “tough”, Mercedes noted that teams could normally fix such a problem under Parc Ferme conditions but did not appeal.
In Sunday’s race, the commissioners decided against investigating Verstappen for an aggressive defensive maneuver against Hamilton at Turn 4 while driving the Mercedes off-track to stay ahead, a decision Wolff described as “ridiculous”.
When asked if he believed that Mercedes would be treated the same as other teams, Wolff said that although he did not want to complain, the time for diplomatic matters was now over.
“I don’t want to moan here, because that’s not how I see the sport,” said Wolff.
“I think we just had many, many slaps in the face this weekend with decisions that could have fluctuated for both sides, against us or for us.
“Whenever the decisions are against you, I’m just angry and I’ll defend my team, my drivers, against what’s to come.
“I’ve always been very diplomatic when discussing things. But diplomacy is over today.”
Toto Wolff, team principal and CEO, Mercedes AMG, in the garage
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Wolff added that he was content to allow moves like Verstappen’s when the rulebook allowed them, but felt that clarity was needed.
“Whatever the rules are, if the rules say that’s what I’d like to do, that it’s activated, that’s fine,” said Wolff. “I’m not discussing the principle of tough racing.
“Hard racing is great and should be on. But not when it is clear beforehand that you can’t drive anyone off the track.”
After the race, Hamilton was summoned again by the stewards for opening his seat belts in the cool-down lap, which resulted in a fine for the seven-time world champion.
There was also intrigue by Red Bull over the design of the Mercedes rear wing given its impressive straight-line speed, but no protest was lodged.
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