By all accounts Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had an eventful weekend in Sao Paulo. Even though it ended on a positive note with his driver Lewis Hamilton winning the race, getting to that point meant navigating a few stressful moments that led to a few outbursts.
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0:00 - Every Time Toto Wolff Lost His Cool In Brazil
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Every Time Toto Wolff Lost His Cool In Brazil
It all began with Lewis Hamilton’s disqualification from Friday’s qualifying
“The FIA would say there was damage [on the rear wing] and therefore we weren’t in breach of the regulations. They also said there was nothing that happened with intent from our side. Then we are reading 'disqualified', which honestly, I couldn’t believe – I thought Ron Meadows [Mercedes Sporting Director] was making a joke when I saw the WhatsApp. So, strange things happen”
Hamilton would storm through the field in the Sprint Race to finish 5th from the back of the grid, a feat that was met with a strong reaction on the radio from Wolff that included an expletive
Wolff explained this outburst after the Sprint Race
“You need to build up resilience and that was meant by saying 'F**k them all'. The point is that yesterday the car was being tested, and today two hours before the race, we got the information that we were disqualified, and that is – how can I say – in a way, sad”
He, however, still couldn't let the disqualification go as it emerged a little later that Red Bull had been allowed to change parts under parc ferme
“We had a broken part on our rear wing which we couldn’t look at, couldn’t analyse, failed the test, and after disqualified, very harsh. And then you see on the Red Bull repairs, three times in a row on a rear wing whilst being in parc ferme with no consequence”
The race on Sunday did little to calm Wolff down as he felt that Max's defense was over the line and Wolff wasted no time after the race to air his displeasure
“That’s one thing, and obviously that really peaked with the decision in the race, which was, I mean, really wrong defence from Max, absolutely an inch over the limit, but he needed to do that to defend”
He added how it was laughable
“Lewis just managed it even more brilliantly by avoiding the contact and end the race that way. But that was just over the line, it should have been a five-second penalty at least. Probably Max knew that. Just brushing it under the carpet, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s just laughable”
Wolff was shown making gestures towards the camera immediately after Hamilton overtook Max. Wolff explained this reaction next
“That was just friendly hello at the race director”
Just as the race weekend wound down, Wolff signed off as well by stating that diplomacy from their side is over
"When always the decisions swing against you, it's just 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”
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Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has questioned “penalty for what? I mean, there’s no advantage gained, there’s no contact been made, so…”
“I think it’s just hard racing between the two of them. And yes, I think that the stewards actually made the right decision on that”
“We’ve talked about this many, many times, about the ‘let them race’ mentality”
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko chimed in by asking “are we racing or are we at nursery school?”
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto pointed out that they “have doubled [their] lead over [their] closest rivals in the constructors’ classification”
“Having said that, a 31.5 point lead doesn’t mean that it’s done and dusted, far from it”, he elaborated
“During what proved to be a busy weekend, the team, both at the track and back in Maranello, worked very hard"
AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda is “pretty frustrated after [Brazil]. I think we made a good choice with the tyres but unfortunately the collision with Stroll completely ruined my race”
“It was a risky move, but he just wasn’t looking in his mirrors and we came together”, he added
“It’s a real shame I received the penalty, as I also struggled with damage for the rest of the race, but these things happen and we’ll work to come back stronger next time out”, he summed up
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, meanwhile, thinks that Yuki’s “move was desperate and he was way too optimistic”
“That contact damaged my car and from there more pieces were falling off, which meant that the pace got worse and we were just going backwards”, he expanded
“It is disappointing to retire, but this weekend has made me even more determined to finish well in Qatar next weekend”, he concluded
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