Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko praised Mercedes for its “grand gesture” when she withdrew her appeal against the dramatic outcome of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton on the last lap of the season-defining race after the controversial implementation of the safety car rules by FIA race director Michael Masi.
Mercedes immediately protested two times after the race, but both were rejected by the FIA. Mercedes responded with an objection deadline, but withdrew it before the deadline last Thursday, although team boss Toto Wolff believed that a legal dispute was “almost guaranteed”.
Marko, who also heads Red Bull’s driver development program, admitted that he understood why Mercedes was injured and praised her athleticism when he finally decided to withdraw the appeal.
“I can only say that this was a great gesture from Mercedes,” said the 78-year-old to the Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Hamilton was definitely unlucky, but so were we at Silverstone, in Budapest and in Baku. Races can run like this, but I understand the disappointment. “
Masi was repeatedly asked to resign after the season finale, and Marko admitted that the new president of the FIA should give the ailing race director more support.
“The new FIA president will have to come up with a new system that will help Masi because he cannot do it alone,” added Marko. “There is too much pressure on his shoulders at the moment. For example, I find that team managers and team bosses can no longer speak directly to Masi during a race.
“The rules also need to be simplified. Too many decisions have been made that neither we nor Mercedes displeased. The judgments must be more uniform. “
Wolff insisted that he had no interest in speaking to Masi and that the race director was responsible for “robbing” Hamilton of a record-breaking eighth world title.
“I’m not interested in talking to Michael Masi,” said Wolff. “The decisions made in the last four minutes of this race have thrown Lewis Hamilton out of a well-deserved world championship. His driving style, especially in the last four races, was flawless.
“He had a clear lead right from the start in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. He won the start and never gave up the lead again. Robbing him on the last lap of the race is unacceptable. “
