Mercedes team principal Toto Wolf called for Red Bull’s protest against George Russell with Canadian Grand Prix “Little” and “Embarrassing,” suggesting the FIA should revise the process.
Red Bull protested against Russell, who won the race almost two hours after the race ended. Team principal Christian Horner said it was because he dropped more than 10 cars in the back of the safety car and brakes straight and irregularly on his back. The first of these two protests was withdrawn when Russell was described as pursuing a yellow flag delta leaving the pit, but the second was rejected five and a half hours after the checkered flag.
“First of all, they had to race two hours before Team Red Bull began their protests, so that was what they were doing,” Wolf told Sky Sports in the Formula 1 Movie Premiere. “To be honest, it’s very small and very small.
“They did that in Miami. Now they filed two protests. They got one back because it was ridiculous. They came up with some strange ISC clauses – the Sports Code clause.
“You race, you win, you get on track and lose, and it was a fair victory for us.
Wolf added his beliefs, not that it was a team-driven decision and that came from Max Verstappen, who seemed calm about the situation through post-race media duties.
“They actually pulled in as a protest. They didn’t even chase it because it was nonsense. The second took us five hours because they don’t even know what you’re calling ‘sportsman-like behavior’ or anything.
“What is it? Who will decide it? I’m a racer because I’m sure it’s not the biggest. He’s never going to protest such trivial things.”
Red Bull Team Principal Horner also told Sky Sports that he felt his team was entirely within the right to go to stewards.
“No, it’s definitely not (I have regrets),” Horner said. “I mean, it’s the rights of the team. We saw something that I don’t think is right at all. You have the ability to put it in front of the steward, so that’s what we chose to do.