Mercedes hope Red Bull end "concerted attempt" to tarnish Lewis Hamilton's good name

Mercedes - Red Bull

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Mercedes hope Red Bull end "concerted attempt" to tarnish Hamilton's good name

Mercedes has delivered a strong statement supporting Hamilton

Ian Parkes

Thursday 29 July 2021 21:21

Mercedes is hoping Red Bull senior management will now end what it has deemed to be "a concerted attempt" to damage Lewis Hamilton's good name and reputation in the wake of his British Grand Prix collision with Max Verstappen

The statement follows a report from the stewards that rejected Red Bull's call to review Hamilton's 10-second time penalty for being "predominantly to blame" for the incident that saw Verstappen crash into a tyre barrier at Silverstone.

In the aftermath of the lap-one collision, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner slated Hamilton as "dangerous", "desperate" and "an amateur".

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Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko and Max's father Jos both suggested the seven-time champion should have been disqualified, with the former adding that Hamilton's driving was "unacceptable".

Verstappen Jr also slated Hamilton for being "disrespectful and unsportsmanlike" for celebrating his eighth British GP triumph while he was in hospital undergoing tests.

Hamilton has since made clear that he did not know until after the race Verstappen had been taken to hospital, and that as far as he was aware he had climbed from his car unscathed.

A statement from Mercedes calling for Red Bull to halt its sledging of Hamilton read: "The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team welcomes the decision of the stewards to reject Red Bull Racing's right of review.

"In addition to bringing this incident to a close, we hope that this decision will mark the end of a concerted attempt by the senior management of Red Bull Racing to tarnish the good name and sporting integrity of Lewis Hamilton, including in the documents submitted for their unsuccessful right of review.

"We now look forward to going racing this weekend and to continuing our hard-fought competition for the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship."