Toto Wolff, Team Principal of the Mercedes-AMG FI, was angered at the treatment of his star driver, Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain, after his victory over the weekend, reports The Guardian.
At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton won from 10th place although he was hit with two penalties. During the race, Wolff accused the stewards of unfair treatment for not penalizing Max Verstappen, who appeared to run him off the track as the two drove towards the lead position.
As Hamilton attempted to pass Verstappen, the Dutchman squeezed him wide, forcing both drivers to go off track. The stewards classified the action as acceptable, a decision that was questioned by Wolff and most in attendance.
Despite the challenges, Wolff said that this was one of Hamilton’s best performances.
“Overall, I definitely rate that among the best-ever performances I have ever seen from him,” he said.
Wolff claimed that the decisions made against Mercedes and Hamilton were biased.
“I think we’ve just had many, many punches in the face this weekend,” he said. “Decisions that could have swung either side against us or for us. It’s something that I’m just angry about and I will defend my team, my drivers to what comes. I’ve always been very diplomatic in how I discuss things, but diplomacy has ended today.”
Christian Horner, the principal of the Red Bull team, stated that it was the right decision, arguing “it was simply hard but fair racing.” Wolff agreed with Horner, but also believed that Verstappen should have been penalized.
“That was just over the line—should have been a five-second penalty at least – and probably Max knew that,” he said. “Just brushing it under the carpet is just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, it’s laughable.”
The next round is scheduled for next weekend in Qatar followed by Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.
