"Absolutely no bad blood" between McLaren and Mercedes over Racing Point appeal

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"Absolutely no bad blood" between McLaren and Mercedes over Racing Point appeal

McLaren and Mercedes will reunite as a partnership in 2021

Sam Hall

Tuesday 11 August 2020 13:30 Updated: 16:01

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McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl was unwilling to speak further on the Racing Point appeal process but insists there is no "bad blood" between his team and Mercedes.

McLaren will switch out the current Renault power unit for its Mercedes equivalent for 2021, but the two parties find themselves on opposite sides of the Racing Point dispute.

Racing Point was docked 15 constructors' championship points and fined €400,000 after a steward's investigation ruled the rear brake ducts on the RP20 had been predominantly designed by Mercedes and not the constructor itself, as the regulations require.

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The decision, viewed by McLaren, Williams, Ferrari and Renault to be too lenient, also permits Racing Point to continue using the parts for the remainder of the season, with reprimands being handed out at each race the part is used.

Taking the polar opposite view of McLaren, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff believes Racing Point has been harshly treated and backs the current Mercedes customer team to be successful in its own appeal against the sanction.

Questioned by GPFans on how the dispute had affected the relationship between McLaren and the German manufacturer, Seidl commented: “No, there is absolutely no bad blood between Mercedes and us.

"We have a great relationship with Toto anyway, with the guys from Brixworth preparing for next year and in the end, the case which is on at the moment is – let’s say involves Racing Point and not Mercedes.”

With regard to comments made by Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll about the "poor sportsmanship" of teams appealing for a harsher punishment, Seidl stayed relatively mute, explaining: "I don’t want to comment on any of these comments to be honest. As I said, we are part of the legal process now as well so we don’t want to comment further on it.

"At the same time, it is important also not to waste too much energy on the entire case, because we know what we have to do on McLaren’s side to be more competitive and that is our main focus.”

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