Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff insists that he has no “bad words” for rivals Red Bull after Max Verstappen’s controversial Formula 1 world championship title through Lewis Hamilton.
Wolff’s rivalry with Red Bull colleague Christian Horner heated up in the final phase of the season when Verstappen and Hamilton fought for the world title.
And emotions spilled over after the dramatic end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season when Verstappen defeated Hamilton in the championship on the final round of the season after benefiting from some controversial decisions by Race Director Michael Masi.
Wolff undid Masi’s “unacceptable” decision to let five cars round themselves after a late safety car and put Verstappen into the final lap behind Hamilton on fresh tires.
Mercedes protested the race result but eventually withdrew their appeals, with Wolff promising to work with the FIA to “improve the robustness of rules, governance and decision-making in Formula 1”. Horner claimed the initial protest from Mercedes was “desperate” as he welcomed the championship.
Though his team is on the wrong end of a “brutal result”, Wolff said the dramatic end of the season will “tie Mercedes and Red Bull together” and says the rival teams will work to move the sport forward.
“The statements [after Abu Dhabi protest] for me it was certainly a result of emotion, ”Wolff told reporters. “I can understand that a protest can be frustrating after you’ve won the race and the title.
“I don’t have a bad word at all against Christian, Helmut, Red Bull or Max. They were worthy competitors this year. We fought like never before, on and off the track, but in the end they won the championship and you have to acknowledge that.
“I think that will bind us together even more in the future. Because we lost the championship with the Abu Dhabi decision, but Helmut, Christian and Max are racing drivers and we saw what happened.
“And of course there are explanations that similar things happened against them that season. Maybe it balances out, maybe it doesn’t. But just the one decision in Abu Dhabi was so brutal, the racing drivers will recognize that. I know that.
“Together I think we can change the rules to make decision-making more conscious, and that’s in the interests of us, Red Bull and all the other teams.”
