Arrivabene does not appreciate Mercedes' attitude at all

Those responsible for Mercedes en Formula 1 did they light the fuse on Sunday following the British Grand Prix? On the Silverstone circuit, Toto wolff made harsh comments regarding the maneuvers of the Team Ferrari, which had sent one of the Silver Arrows spinning head-to-head for the second time in three races.

“We are losing a lot of points in the Manufacturers’ Championship. As James Allison said (the technical director of Mercedes F1), Do you think this is deliberate or is it incompetence? », had declared Toto wolff on Sky Sports.

A few hours later, his counterpart at Ferrari did not hesitate to return the favor. " Yes (James Allison) actually said that, he should be ashamed, assène Maurice Arrivabene. He worked for many years in Maranello (from 1999 to 2005 then between 2013 and July 2016), theHe raised some money there too. It does its job, you have to be stylish and know how to lose” he reacted for Sky Sports Italia.

The Italian director of sports management continued his electric tirade. “We are in England, sometimes they (Mercedes) want to teach us how to be a gentleman. He (James Allison) should begin with being itself. »

“Frankly, it bothered me. And then, who is incompetent? Kimi? Who is he to judge what a pilot does in his cockpit? He should take a look at the telemetry and figure out that his driver (Lewis Hamilton) unfortunately got off to a bad start and lost two places. Kimi, on the other hand, took off well – we have the data – and he was on top of him very quickly. »

The former head of Philip Morris for Ferrari did not hesitate to remind "the similar incident between Hag et Verstappen in China. No one complained, everything went well. »

Maurizio Arrivabene ultimately refuses to get involved in the controversy. “It was a great racing battle, one that the spectators enjoyed. There will be others and Mercedes should surely win some. This is a good lesson for everyone to keep their class, whether something they didn't do. » The art of calming things down while settling scores…

Discover the analysis of the British GP carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2173 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.