Mercedes boss Wolff warns Red Bull: "The gloves are off!"
Mercedes boss Wolff warns Red Bull: "The gloves are off!"
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has sent a clear message to Red Bull that "the gloves are off" after the team launched numerous protests during the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix weekend.
On Sunday morning, Red Bull officially launched a protest against the decision not to punish Lewis Hamilton for ignoring yellow flags during qualifying.
Officials reviewed the incident using evidence from Red Bull and, 41 minutes before the start of the race, Hamilton was given a three-place grid penalty dropping him from second to fifth.
The six-time F1 champion was then given a five-second penalty during the race itself for an incident involving Red Bull's Alex Albon in the closing stages, resulting in him being classified fourth after crossing the line second behind team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
All this followed Red Bull's protest on Friday against Mercedes' DAS system, one that was eventually thrown out by the stewards.
After the race, Wolff explained he viewed the penalty handed to Hamilton as "harsh" and, when asked about the challenge of Red Bull both on and off the track in the season ahead, sent a very clear message.
Wolff said: "I thought the protest on Friday was actually fair play, but not on Sunday. Coming back on Sunday morning, turning around a decision from yesterday, if you have new evidence, that is what the rules allow, you have to take that on the chin.
"I think that in the race - putting all these things together - in the race the penalty was too harsh.
"But coming back to your question - the gloves are off."
Wolff also expressed his concern over the reliability the Mercedes W11, both of which suffered sensor problems during the race, but was keen to add that he felt the Red Bull Ring circuit had a clear part to play.
"I think the reliability issues here come from the kerbs. It's a great track, but if you run the kerbs too wide, which is within the rules, you damage your suspension," added Wolff.
"So it is a permanent evaluation of the driver, how quickly you want to go, how much you want to ride the kerbs. By their nature they want to go as quick as possible and if you do that you risk suspension damage or vibrations to the car that can break it."
Before you go...
Hamilton thanks the 13 F1 drivers who took a knee before race in Austria
Vettel has little confidence in this year's Ferrari
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Red Bull chief in BRUTAL putdown of key F1 feature
- 14 minutes ago
Cullen relationship blossoms with new star after moving on from Hamilton
- 1 hour ago
Hamilton dealt major Newey blow as shock COMPLICATION revealed
- 2 hours ago
F1 News Today: Incredible Verstappen exit clause reignites F1 rival talks as Mercedes milestone reveals shock RED livery
- Today 06:58
Horner outlines Ricciardo target to save F1 dream as major Newey announcement made - GPFans F1 Recap
- Yesterday 23:57
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
- Yesterday 22:57
Related news
Mercedes reveal shock RED livery to celebrate historic milestone
Verstappen 'to meet Mercedes over SHOCK 2025 move as Red Bull exit clause revealed'
BLOW for former F1 champion as Mercedes preferences revealed
Mercedes star tipped to replace struggling driver THIS season
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860