Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes that following the FIA’s decision on Max Verstappen’s behavior at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Formula 1 has opened the door to “dirtier driving” in the future.
Verstappen’s defensive tactics at Interlagos last weekend, when he drove title rival Lewis Hamilton off track in the battle for the lead, has been the subject of intense debate over the past few days.
At the time, F1 Race Director Michael Masi and the FIA stewards decided not to investigate Verstappen’s actions, and an attempt by Mercedes to seek a review right on that call was denied in Qatar.
The F1 drivers themselves were a bit confused about the future racing rules, although the FIA did not seem to give much clarity about uniform guidelines for leaving the race area for other cars in the driver meeting on Friday evening.
The suggestion that drivers could be penalized for an incident identical to that in Verstappen / Hamilton depending on the stewards involved did not help either.
Given concerns that Verstappen’s actions have actually given the green light to drivers who are pushing their rivals far outward when trying to bypass the outside, Wolff fears that this has set a bad precedent for the future.
“I think it’s a very surprising result because no matter how Brazil was judged, I think that’s water under the bridge,” Wolff told Sky.
“In my opinion, you can just throw yourself into a corner and pull the other car off the line. And of course that can make for a pretty dirty ride forward.
“We don’t want to have a chaotic situation tomorrow, in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, because that would be really bad.”
Wolff assumes that the drivers are just as surprised as observers by the situation and the FIA’s lack of clarity about how things are handled.
“I think all the drivers who spoke up said it was a decision that came as a surprise to them too,” he said.
“Of course you have to adapt your driving style to the new situation, but it’s still surprising for everyone in the car and for us too.”
The post Wolff fears that because of the phone call from Verstappen, F1 opened the door to “dirtier driving” first appeared on monter-une-startup.
