Mercedes Formula 1 boss Toto Wolff has branded Red Bull’s failed protest against George Russell “so petty and so small”, and “just embarrassing”.
Red Bull lodged a protest against race winner Russell in the Canadian Grand Prix for allegedly driving erratically under the safety car and displaying unsportsmanlike behaviour by complaining over the team radio that Max Verstappen had overtaken him in the process.
Verstappen briefly moved ahead of Russell when they were behind the safety car in the closing laps of the race, after Russell braked and slowed.
Red Bull had suggested to Verstappen during the race that this was “gamesmanship” from Russell, the implication being that the race leader was trying to bait Verstappen into breaking the rules, with the four-time world champion one licence penalty point from a race ban.
The team then cemented its suspicion with its protest - the second time this season it has done so against Russell, after another unsuccessful one in Miami - and raised another issue regarding Russell being too far back from the safety car after slowing down.
That seems to have been withdrawn once it was quickly established that Russell had correctly respected his minimum time delta.
“Honestly, it's so petty and so small,” Wolff told Sky Sports F1 at the F1 movie premiere in New York.
“They've done it in Miami. Now they launched two protests. They took one back.
“I guess the FIA needs to look at that, because it's so far-fetched. It was rejected. You race, you win and you lose on track.
“That was a fair victory for us, like so many they had in the past, and it's just embarrassing.”
The protest that Red Bull stood by accused Russell of being “unnecessary and erratic” and violating the part of the FIA International Sporting Code that covers: “Any infringement of the principles of fairness in competition, behaviour in an unsportsmanlike manner or attempt to influence the result of a competition in a way that is contrary to sporting ethics.”
According to the stewards, Red Bull argued it could be inferred from Russell’s onboard camera showing he looked in his mirrors before he braked that he knew Verstappen was immediately behind and so he braked to force Verstappen to overtake and break the rules - and that Russell complained about the overtake on his team radio knowing that it would be overheard by race control in the hope that Verstappen would be investigated.
This was dismissed by the stewards, and Wolff noted it was not something Verstappen had cared much about post-race either - questioning Red Bull’s decision to pursue such a protest.
“It took us five hours [to resolve] there because…I don't even know what they referred to, unsportsmanlike behaviour? What is it all about? Why do you know that? Who decides it?
“Because I'm 100% sure it’s not Max. He's a racer. He would never go for a protest on such a trivial thing.”
The scars run deep when it comes to Wolff vs his Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner.
Wolff has a very clear idea of the way to do things, and has admitted before he struggles to let go when someone crosses a line.
Mercedes’ history with Red Bull is fractious but another example is the 2019 fight with Ferrari, the allegations of cheating that emerged that year, and its secret deal with the FIA. You might recall when Wolff said that Mattia Binotto, who led Ferrari at that time, could never work for Mercedes given the impact that saga had on Wolff’s team.
Where Horner and Wolff are concerned, though, the rivalry has gone beyond sporting matters and become deeply personal at times. They are probably F1’s two fiercest defenders of their teams and their people, they've never really held back, and they’ve both been guilty of goading the other into a reaction.
That all plays into Wolff’s reaction to the failed Red Bull protest, which would already go down poorly as any accusation of unsportsmanlike behavior tends to. It goes beyond team self-interest and becomes a very specific kind of accusation - one that, as Wolff was keen to point out, Verstappen himself distanced himself from post-race.
Yes, Russell had made a couple of digs at Verstappen in Canada, and after their incident in Spain before that. He’s not above playing games and using everything in his arsenal to destabilise his rival. Just like Verstappen does on-track. That’s how it goes.
Wolff’s clear that the Red Bull accusation and nature of its protest went beyond that. It doesn't take much to reignite this fire. So an attempt to rob Mercedes’ driver of a win, on what was ultimately frivolous grounds, questioning their sporting integrity in the process - it’s no surprise that touched a nerve.
