Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff slams FIA after CONTROVERSIAL US GP decision

Toto Wolff, Mercedes, Belgium, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Wolff slams FIA after CONTROVERSIAL US GP decision

Mercedes had their fair share of problems at COTA over the US GP weekend

Originally written by Kerry Violet. This version is a translation.

Tuesday 22 October 2024 20:00

Toto Wolff has slammed the FIA after they made a controversial decision against one of his Mercedes drivers at the United States Grand Prix.

As F1 returned to Austin so did talk of the FIA's inconsistency, with some stars handed penalties at COTA whilst others did not for similar incidents.

The US GP ended dramatically with Lando Norris receiving a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage and overtaking off the track against Max Verstappen, in a similar fashion to how Wolff's own driver was also awarded a penalty.

Mercedes had a less-than-ideal weekend in Austin after British star Lewis Hamilton exited the race early, beaching his W15 in the gravel.

His team-mate George Russell had already been handed a penalty from the FIA ahead of the race, forcing him to start from the pitlane.

As the grand prix then got underway, Russell was hit with a further setback after the FIA deemed his overtake on Valtteri Bottas worthy of a 5-second penalty.

George Russell had the last laugh at COTA, finishing sixth despite a pitlane start

Lewis Hamilton was unable to finish the US GP for the first time in his F1 career

Mercedes boss makes FIA accusation in awkward interview

Article continues under video

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 pundit Ted Kravitz, Wolff revealed his thoughts on the FIA’s stewarding throughout the US GP: “It’s inconsistent I think with Valtteri it wasn’t even a race, yesterday we’ve seen a few of those incidents which were exactly the same that weren’t penalised, racing for positions actually, real positions, and receiving that penalty is just completely odd and bizarre,”

“I think we know why but I obviously can’t say that on television."

Toto Wolff and Ted Kravitz engaged in an awkward interaction after the US GP

Wolff responded: “Sometimes there’s correlations.”

“When the decision-making is a bit interesting.”

As the pair continued their heated back and forth, the exchange possessed a tense atmosphere with Kravitz continuing his line of questioning to cement Wolff’s accusation.

“Correlation between certain decisions that are made and sometimes the races where you look at the people who are making those decisions, just to be clear?” he asked.

“Yeah you said that now.” Wolff snapped.

“I know I said it but I’m trying to get to what you said,” retaliated Kravitz.

"I think we do have an issue with the stewarding, I think we did hear your radio message to George about at the end and that is available and people would’ve heard you say that so I guess this is a story and one of the things that will run.”

The radio in question came at the end of the US GP, after Russell queried if Verstappen had received a penalty for his move on Norris, and Wolff was heard labelling the FIA's decision making as 'biased'.

To finalise the interview, Wolff declared: "At the end of the day it’s a difficult job, some are very good, some are trying their best and we need to salute these guys.”

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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Max Verstappen Mercedes Lando Norris FIA Toto Wolff United States Grand Prix