Mercedes criticise Red Bull after British Grand Prix appeal dismissed
Red Bull failed in their bid for Hamilton’s 10-second penalty to be reviewed.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Mercedes have launched a stinging attack on Red Bull by accusing their Formula One rivals of a “concerted attempt to tarnish Lewis Hamilton’s good name and sporting integrity”.
Less than an hour after it emerged Red Bull failed in their bid for Hamilton’s 10-second penalty following his opening-lap collision with Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix to be reviewed, Mercedes went on the offensive.
In a statement, the world champions said: “The Mercedes F1 Team welcomes the decision of the stewards to reject Red Bull Racing’s right of review.
“In addition to bringing this incident to a close, we hope that this decision will mark the end of a concerted attempt by the senior management of Red Bull Racing to tarnish the good name and sporting integrity of Lewis Hamilton including in the documents submitted for their unsuccessful right of review.
“We now look forward to going racing this weekend and to continuing our hard-fought competition for the 2021 Formula One World Championship.”
It is understood that Red Bull’s evidence log, which was presented to the British Grand Prix stewards via a conference call on Thursday afternoon, accused Hamilton of driving dangerously and, in effect, causing the collision on purpose.
In a statement F1’s governing body, the FIA said the stewards noted “with some concern, certain allegations made” by Red Bull who felt Hamilton’s punishment was too lenient.
Team principal Christian Horner even claimed at Silverstone that Hamilton put Verstappen’s life in jeopardy following the 180mph shunt.
Hamilton recovered from the penalty to claim a controversial win, while Verstappen did not score a point after his afternoon ended in the barriers and latterly hospital.Red Bull presented a crash dossier to the British GP stewards in the hope that Hamilton’s punishment would be reviewed.The document, understood to be more than 20 pages, included a number of slides using GPS data of Hamilton’s collision with Verstappen and a comparison of the Briton’s race-winning move on Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the same corner.
Red Bull even performed a re-enactment of Hamilton’s first lap of the British Grand Prix using their reserve driver Alex Albon during a filming day at Silverstone last week.But the FIA panel ruled that Red Bull’s evidence did not carry enough fresh evidence to warrant a re-trial.As such, Hamilton’s 99th win stands with the world champion heading into this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix just eight points adrift of Verstappen.