Now it has finally broken out, the star wars in Formula 1! After the Brazilian GP, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff announced that the days of diplomacy were over. At 4.40 p.m. German time, Mercedes finally declared the Star Wars today (Tuesday).
Background: The world championship team takes the opportunity for a so-called “Right of Review” (right to re-examination) according to Article 14.1.1 of the International Sporting Code. Stumbling block: Max Verstappen’s maneuver against Lewis Hamilton in lap 48 of the Brazilian GP in Sao Paulo. Means: The FIA around race director Michael Masi has to deal with the scene again because Mercedes has presented new evidence.
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Verstappen had pushed Hamilton off the track in turn four because he himself couldn’t get the corner in the full throttle duel at the end of the second straight after an extremely late braking maneuver. Actually, however, a pilot has to give his competitor a car width space in a duel on the outside lane. In Spielberg, both Sergio Perez and Lando Norris were given time penalties for pushing their rivals off the slopes.
In Interlagos, however, FIA race director Michael Masi did not even forward the scene to the race stewards. “We mustn’t forget that we want to let them drive races,” said the Australian on Sunday evening. “We used that here. Both cars left the track but did not lose their position. As always, the commissioners took a close look at all the available images. “
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff
However, he also admitted that he had not seen any onboard video recordings. Masi: “We don’t have this access during the race. To be honest, I thought about the black and white flag (warning; d. Ed.) For Verstappen, but decided against it. “
In the meantime, Formula 1 itself has made the videos from the onboard cameras available on its social media channels. However: There you can clearly see that Verstappen does not intentionally steer to the right, but simply does not get the curve.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had already announced in Brazil: “Max’s defense was over the limit. He deserved a 5 second penalty. But simply sweeping that under the rug is the tip of the iceberg {…} embarrassing for the race management. That is all being worked up now. We can’t let that sit on us. “
Should the Right of Review be approved, the case will be re-examined. Since the race has already ended, a possible subsequent penalty would have to relate to the upcoming race in Qatar. But it is also quite possible that Mercedes wants to set an example in order to be prepared for future questionable situations.
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The Formula 1 makers should be happy. Regarding the constant arguing between Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and Wolff from Vienna, F1 sports director Ross Brawn has just said on the F1 podcast: “The top fight has become really intense. Mercedes has dominated the hybrid era so far, and when you have a duel on your own team it’s not the same. Now we have this brilliant dynamic between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner, which is another ingredient in the top fight. It’s a different situation than in previous years and it’s definitely more entertaining. ”
By the way: After the ten-second time penalty against Lewis Hamilton after his collision with Max Verstappen at Silverstone, Red Bull had also requested a new investigation, but failed because of the high hurdle of having to present new evidence.
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