FORMULA 1 MOTORSPORT NEWS

Mercedes team boss Wolff is considering protest against Red Bull

Author: Jan van der Burgt

The (too) flexible rear wing of Red Bull and some other Formula 1 teams is a hot topic in Formula 1. Several parties are outraged that those teams are given so long to adjust things. Including Toto Wolff, who opens the door to a protest.

This weekend, Lewis Hamilton and McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl , among others, were critical of the FIA ​​and the way in which Red Bull and some other teams with (too) flexible wings are given the opportunity to take advantage of an unfair advantage for longer than is strictly necessary. The first steps must be taken in mid-June, after which the cars must be fully compliant with the new regulations by mid-July.

That means that Red Bull on Baku with all its long straights can still drive with the old wing, which according to Hamilton is good for six tenths per lap there. That’s why Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff was asked on Thursday in Monaco if he is considering filing a protest against Red Bull, specifically in Baku.

“Of course we had the DAS system last year and this sort of thing happens every year, but in this specific case there is a legal vacuum because, for whatever reason, the introduction of stricter rules is delayed. The door to possible protests is open, as it affects not only us, but several teams, “Wolff said in conversation with RacingNews365, among others.

But Wolff also knows that it can take a long time to process a protest, which creates a ‘messy’ situation: “A protest will most likely end up on the board of the International Court of Appeal. This is a chaotic situation, because a ruling can then take weeks. “

“But we should not have ended up in this situation, not with four weeks to go to the race that is most relevant on the calendar in this matter,” Wolff concludes.