Toto Wolff labelled Max Verstappen’s defence “laughable” and proceeded to rip into him and the FIA.
Mercedes had an absolutely troublesome weekend in Brazil, but despite all they had to go through, they roared back to take a stunning victory. They left everyone in the dust, including Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
When Lewis Hamilton tried to get past Verstappen, the Dutchman did some dirty defending that was a stonewall penalty. The FIA shockingly decided not to avoid a penalty for it, which made Mercedes very angry.
Wolff labelled Verstappen’s defence “laughable” and tore him and the FIA a new one for their actions.
“I mean the whole weekend went against us,” Wolff stated, as quoted by International Business Times.
“We had a broken part on our rear wing which we couldn’t look at, couldn’t analyse. And after (we were) disqualified – very harsh. And after you see Red Bull repair three times on the rear wing whilst being in Parc Ferme, with no consequence.
“That’s one thing and obviously, that really peaked when the decision in the race, which was, I mean, really strong defence from Max.”
No defence, just vibes
Wolff then proceeded to heap praise on Hamilton and hailed him for getting past Verstappen despite the FIA messing up.
“Absolutely an inch over the limit, but he needed to defend, but Lewis just managed it even more brilliantly by avoiding the contact and end the race that way,” he continued.
“That was just over the line – should have been a five-second penalty at least – and probably Max knew that. Just brushing it under the carpet is just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, it’s laughable.”
It was justice served ultimately, as Hamilton and Mercedes overcame the odds stacked against them and won in dominant fashion.
Read more: Verstappen hits out at ‘cheap’ Hamilton and Wolff tactic – “He would’ve got a penalty”