Toto Wolff clarifies Merc's position in exclusive Sky F1 interview
Friday 8 July 2016 17:49, UK
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has told Sky F1 the world champions would impose team orders in identical circumstances to those which occurred at the conclusion of the Austrian GP.
Although the team have rowed back from their initial threat of laying down a blanket restriction of team orders following the collision between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, a statement from Mercedes on Thursday highlighted 'the drivers were also reminded that we may issue instructions during the race to protect against a potential loss of Constructors' points'.
Rosberg was protecting a worsening brake problem in the closing stages as Hamilton sought to take the lead and Wolff has admitted that, were the situation to be repeated, Mercedes would ask their drivers not to race each other.
"The answer is yes - and I tell you why," he told Sky Sports F1.
"We had a situation where both cars were clearly, I wouldn't say damaged, but the brakes were not in the state that they could properly race each other. We were coming to a point that only the two of them raced each other and the brakes were near failure.
"We saw what happened to [Sergio] Perez, he had a brake failure and he ended up in the wall. We saw [Felipe] Massa retiring the car. And in that particular situation we need to stop the racing before we have two cars breaking down.
"So we would probably interfere and say 'you haven't got the car underneath you to race'."
Hamilton and Rosberg given their 'final warning'
Mercedes' statement also said the world champions' had introduced extra 'deterrents' in a bid to avoid further tangles between their cars in future.
Wolff reiterated that those measures would remain confidential between the parties, but did suggest the ultimate possible sanction of a race suspension could be considered if the drivers disregarded the in-house rules.
Put to him that the team would never consider standing down reigning champion Hamilton for a race, Wolff replied: "If we would leave Lewis at home, the system we have created three years ago of letting the drivers race has failed. It is a failure of all of us.
"It's their responsibility because none of us can grab the steering wheel in the cockpit. Then it's a failure of the system and obviously having two equal cars race each other doesn't function.
"Would we go as a far [as that]? Yes, we would go as far [as that] to make sure that it doesn't happen in the future anymore, that's 100% clear. We have a massive organisation and one of the best brands in the world. I hope we never go there but at the end of the day you need to make decisions in order to avoid that in the future.
"I'm in very positive spirit and very optimistic spirit it's not going to be needed."
When is the British Grand Prix on Sky Sports F1?
Jenson Button had been among those to argue that Mercedes should not be unduly concerned about their drivers colliding as they received more publicity from the incident in Austria than they would have done with a one-two finish.
Wolff has countered such suggestions by saying Mercedes have to balance the interests of the sport with the atmosphere inside the team.
"We are clearly aware that Formula 1 needs to create headlines and a buzz," he said. "We have won eight out of nine races and nobody talks about the dominance, what we talk about is the animosity and controversy between the drivers. And we talk of Ferrari coming up, which is good.
"But there is a fine line between creating stories for Formula 1 and this affecting the spirit in the organisation. This is where we need to be a little bit careful."
Watch the British GP live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway at 11:30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV.
