Wolff breaks silence: 'We don't want to win a world championship in an appeal court'

Disappointed face, sharp speech, costume as dark as his mood: Toto wolff did not seek to hide his cold anger against the outcome of the 2021 season of Formula 1 in Abu Dhabi. The boss of the stable Mercedes came out of the silence in which he had been hiding for almost four days during a press conference this Thursday, December 16 at noon.

The Austrian spoke in the wake of the press release announcing his team's refusal to appeal the race management under safety car regime in the final laps of the Grand Prix contested at Yas Marina. The least we can say is that the pill (two complaints rejected by the FIA ​​and the loss of the Drivers' title in the final loop to the benefit of Max Verstappen) has difficulty passing, both for the boss and for his foal Lewis Hamilton.  

A brief recall of facts wins before going any further: on the 53rd lap, Nicholas latifi send it Williams against the rail at turn 14. The safety car was dispatched to the track to clear the debris and the wreckage of the Canadian. Red Bull calls Max Verstappen to the pits to put him on soft tires while Mercedes, believing in an arrival under neutralization regime or at least without modification of positions behind the SC, lets Lewis Hamilton continue with the hard tires started.

The Race Direction first indicates that the latecomers interspersed between the two drivers competing for the title will remain in their place, before reversing this decision and allowing five single-seaters to split up to reach the rear of the peloton, and thus offering the tempting prospect of a head-on duel between the Dutchman's Red Bull and the Englishman's Mercedes.
In addition, the restart of the Grand Prix on the final lap was decided and effective without waiting for the said latecomers to have caught up with the peloton, which would have happened on the following lap as written in the regulations. If FIA Race Director Michael Masi had followed the usual procedure, then the race would have finished behind the Safety Car. Enough to provoke the ire of Toto Wolff and his men, who lodged a complaint, rejected by the panel of commissioners on Sunday evening.

Still in shock
“Lewis and I are disillusioned. We love F1 with every bone in our body. The clock never lies but if you take that away you start to question the sport and its authenticity. All the sweat, tears and blood can be washed away randomly. It's going to take a lot of time to digest what happened on Sunday. I don't think we'll ever fully recover from what happened. Certainly not from the pilot's point of view.

As a team, we can work, take advantage of the situation to improve the sport, but it will never overcome the pain and distress felt on Sunday. I can't even understand what was happening. It still seems surreal to me, it's a nightmare", did he declare.

Toto Wolff has lived with this bad dream since that fateful Sunday, December 12, when the Race Direction managed the Safety-Car procedure in an incredible manner in order to revive interest in the duel between the duettists for the coronation. “There are more important things in the world but the values ​​of our microcosm have been trampled, even though we believe in these values. » According to him, Lewis Hamilton was heading straight towards an eighth title, as his domination over the last four events of the calendar was indisputable.

The English-speaking media also asked if the motivation of the seven-time world champion had not taken an irreparable blow with a view to reconquest in 2022. “His racing heart tells him to continue because he is at the top of his game. But we will have to overcome the pain that affected him on Sunday. He remains a man, with his values. »

Empty chair policy at the FIA
In accordance with the photo of the victorious cars in the FIA ​​world championships suggested (absence of Mercedes F1 and FE), Mercedes will boycott the FIA ​​End of Year Gala held in Paris this Thursday, December 16 in the evening.

“Lewis and I will not be there because I am loyal to him and also because of my personal integrity. But the team will be represented by James Allison (head of the technical department. Editor’s note), who will recover the eighth Manufacturers' title on behalf of the Brackley and Brixworth factory. We are very proud of this performance. I try to compartmentalize the anger towards the Drivers' championship and the joy of the Manufacturers' crown, which must be celebrated. »

The end of the fight against the FIA
Toto Wolff also has mixed feelings following the dropping of charges against the FIA. “All the time, I waver between my judgment on the legal aspect and my realism on the outcome of such a procedure. Being right and achieving justice are not the same thing. I do not believe that in the current state of governance at the FIA, we could have benefited from a victory. We couldn't have claimed a result that was stolen from Lewis before the last lap. »

Toto Wolff goes even further and believes that, in the context of an appeal made in a civil court, Mercedes would have been right! “It was almost guaranteed that we would have won. But the problem with the FIA ​​International Court of Appeal lies in its structure. The FIA ​​can't really grade its own work. » In other words, the FIA ​​could not be judge and jury.

And then, what image would Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton have given if the result of the GP had been changed in a courtroom, several weeks or even months after the checkered flag was lowered? It's a prospect that hardly appealed to Toto Wolff.

« We do not want to win a world championship in an appeal court. Even if it was terrible to be faced with a decision that ultimately decided the championship. It was a freestyle-worthy reading of the rules and it put Lewis in an easy target position. »

Which solution ?
The 49-year-old businessman continued his speech by highlighting the efforts made by the FIA ​​to avoid such a mistake. “We now have the appropriate tools to act better. We will hold the FIA ​​and decision makers accountable to make decisions more robust. This is an opportunity to make the sport better. But we must not dwell on the words spoken. There will have to be action. »

“F1 is above all a sport and also a spectacle, but not the other way around. There must be very clear measures so that all teams, all drivers and all fans can understand what is allowed and what is not. »

Michael Masi ignored

Derided for several months for his sometimes surprising decisions at the head of the FIA ​​Race Direction, Michael Masi is under the spotlight of criticism. Toto Wolff doesn't want the Australian to hide the white-collar forest from the FIA. “It's not just a question of changing the Race Director. The entire decision-making system must be improved. The Race Director is under a certain amount of pressure. »

Which does not prevent the Austrian boss from remaining extremely cold regarding his friend Michael. « I'm not interested in a conversation with him. The decisions that were made in the last four minutes of this race took Lewis Hamilton out of a deserved world championship.  He took the lead from the start and never gave in again. Stealing it from him on the last lap of the race is unacceptable. »