Red Bull 'hysteria' triggered social media backlash against Hamilton - Toto Wolff

Toto Wolff during the press conference — Photo: © LAT Images

Hungarian Grand Prix

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Red Bull 'hysteria' triggered social media backlash against Hamilton - Wolff

Mercedes and Red Bull have been engaged in a war of words since the British Grand Prix

Sam Hall

Friday 30 July 2021 13:29 Updated: 13:34

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has branded comments from Red Bull following the British Grand Prix as 'emotional and hysterical' and the cause for the social media backlash that followed against Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton and Max Verstappen's lap-one incident at Silverstone prompted team boss Christian Horner, in particular, to brand Hamilton "dangerous", "desperate" and "an amateur".

The Hungarian GP stewards have since denied Red Bull a review of the 10-second penalty that was handed to the seven-time champion after failing to provide the new evidence that was required.

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With regard to the disparaging comments against his driver, Wolff has criticised Red Bull for acting "emotionally and hysterically".

“I think the comments that were made, surely out of emotion, were going directly against a seven-time world champion," Wolff told Sky Sports F1.

"Words like amateurish should have no place and what it triggered was an avalanche of comments in social media, a lot of controversy and added to further polarisation.

“I think we as a sport should do the contrary. We should deescalate.”

He added: “Everybody needs to do it how they can and how they want and if you want to communicate emotionally and hysterically you can do that.

"We are trying to just look at saying the right things.”

Wolff calls for penalty consistency

Confirming he has not spoken to Horner since the incident, Wolff stated the need for consistency in penalty-making decisions in light of the Austrian Grand Prix given the number of incidents that occurred that could have been deemed as racing.

“Consistency is very important and the stewards deemed this to be a 10-second penalty," he explained.

"I think we, as the teams, need to also have the consistency in what we judge right and wrong and not oscillate with what is opportune at the time.

“For the stewards, it is very difficult actually because the situations are never the same and I think they need to do whatever they can.

"So at the time the 10-second penalty seemed very harsh and the race lost and in the end, it turned out to be good for us.

“But I must say, in my opinion, and this is not opportunistic, is they have the toughest job to do. Like a referee in football before the video analysis came.”