Mercedes saw its petition to reopen the incident at the Brazilian Grand Prix with F1 title rivals Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, rejected by the stewards on Friday after a lengthy consultation process.
When the verdict came, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff emphasized that the motivation of his team behind the request was to clarify what is and what is not acceptable driving standards, instead of trying to have Verstappen punished retrospectively.
“We wanted to initiate a discussion about it because it will probably be a topic in the next races and I think that this goal has been achieved,” said Wolff during the FIA press conference on Friday. “We didn’t think it would go any further.”
Verstappen and Hamilton both left the track at Turn 4 when the seven-time world champion tried to overtake his rival on the outside on lap 48.
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The intention of the Red Bull driver behind his controversial defensive maneuver was clear, according to Wolff.
“What you saw on the video is clear to anyone who has ever driven a car, obviously a far cry from any level any Formula 1 driver can attain,” he said.
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“This corner shouldn’t be the corner where he fell by the wayside. He didn’t do it [mean] to stay on track. So this is my personal interpretation.
“But you know, I shouldn’t be judging by anyone’s driving behavior because if I could, I should be in the car and not sit in a chair and comment.”
Along with the track restrictions, the matter is expected to be one of the main topics of discussion Masi will bring up at the driver briefing on the Friday before the first Qatar Grand Prix.
Before the stewards denied Mercedes a right of inspection, McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl had warned that the end result would change the driver’s race in certain situations.
Lando Norris was punished for pushing Sergio Perez off the track at the Red Bull Ring earlier this year, despite being ahead and keeping the ideal line.
“If we compare the case with Lando’s case, we definitely have some questions,” said Seidl.
“Lando received a penalty in Austria for something that was controversial from our point of view.
“You can definitely argue that what happened there was Lando’s corner, unlike what we saw in Brazil, and so we are very interested in what they decide on a verdict.
“The result of today’s investigation is a different story or process, but more understanding of what Michael will tell the drivers tonight in the drivers briefing, how they see things, how things are going.
“I think whatever the result will definitely change the way drivers approach certain maneuvers on the track, so this is interesting to clarify.”
On Thursday, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc said he would adapt his approach to battling other cars if Verstappen’s move goes unpunished.
“Honestly, I really don’t mind [what the outcome is]“Said the Monegasque. “But whatever is allowed, then as a driver I just want to be clear about it. That’s the only thing that matters to me.
“If that is allowed, it will be very difficult to overtake around the outside.
“But yeah, whatever the situation, the decision is, I’ll just adapt my driving style to that, so I’ll be fine with both of them.”
Meanwhile, AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly stressed the need for drivers to have clear rules after making some “fairly inconsistent” decisions in recent events.
“It’s important to really define what the limit is and what the rule is,” Gasly told Sky Sports. “Because it’s been pretty inconsistent in the last few races, with different penalties for similar incidents.”
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