In the latest episode of the Silverston’s clash saga, Mercedes F1 has lashed out at Red Bull following, and despite, the FIA’s rejection of the latter’s appeal to review the 10-second penalty imposed on Lewis Hamilton for the collision at the British GP . 

The German team released a statement right after the FIA’s decision was made public in which they accused their rivals of tarnishing the name of their British star. Although the statement does not mention any particular member of the Milton Keynes team, it is obvious to who the complaint is addressed: Team principal Christian Horner and team advisor Helmut Marko. 

Mercedes F1 statement:

“The Mercedes-AMG Petronas 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 FIA Formula One World Championship”. 

Red Bull’s penalty request rejected

The press release is referring to the various statements issued by Red Bull’s executives after the famous incident in Silverstone. Team principal Christian Horner, for instance, accused the Briton of making a “dirty, amateur’s mistake and a desperate mistake”. 

Along those same hard lines, Red Bull’s advisor and spokesperson, Helmut Marko, even requested the suspension of the #44 for one or two races. As it was to be expected, the other protagonist of the crash, Max Verstappen, also had something to say about what happened. 

The Dutch driver, speaking from the English hospital where he was being checked over following the impact, expressed his anger, labelling Mercedes’ victory celebrations at Silverstone as “disrespectful“. 

All crossed accusations aside, the evidence presented by Verstappen’s team did not convince the FIA. After the remote hearing of this past Thursday, the group of commissioners in charge of reviewing the case dismissed the evidence presented by Red Bull considering this was not new evidence but rather evidence “manufactured” a posteriori. 

Before shelving the matter for good, the officials in charge of the investigation affirmed that, had they accepted those allegations, they would have set a very dangerous precedent for the sport. The decision, however, has not fully satisfied its beneficiaries, still offended and upset about the assumptions made about them. 

At the very least, the sound of the engines in Hungary will temporarily silence the noise of this verbal, off-the-track battle between the two rivals for the World Title. 

Images: F1.com.