Turns out, Mercedes had calculated the rejection. “Not surprising. It was all about principle,” was Wolff’s first reaction.

“We did not expect that we would gain anything from this. This was not our goal at all. We wanted to start a discussion and launch it. We clarified. What is allowed and what is not? Where is the limit? Success.”

“If Louis Max had not evaded, they would have fallen,” said Wolff. “The video shows that Max didn’t want to take the corner. The hosts should have access to all relevant channels during the race. And fast. That will remain a topic for the next races in this title fight and is now on the map.”

“Of course this is a justified decision,” says Verstappens boss Horner. “I’m not surprised and don’t understand why this has taken so long.” “If you agree to such a request from Mercedes, Pandora’s box opens. Then the end is lost and you can drag everything inside. Where do you draw the line then?”

“You find some accidents at every race that you can still check with new camera angles. Then you get question marks all over the place and you set a precedent.”

critical horns

Horner is highly critical of the Mercedes rival’s attack. “You always have to ask the question with these kinds of things: Is this new? Is this relevant? Important? Well, it definitely wasn’t. There was already enough camera footage for the race management to make a judgment during the race.”