Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the FIA should fine teams who lodge frivolous protests against their competitors.
Wolff described the two protests Red Bull brought against his team in Canada as a “long shot” that was unlikely to succeed. He said FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is looking into whether teams should be fined for bringing such protests.
Red Bull were unsuccessful in their bid to trigger a penalty for George Russell, which could have handed victory to Max Verstappen. The result of the race was not confirmed until five hours after the finish partly as a result of the protests.
Red Bull submitted two protests, but withdrew one, which alleged Russell had fallen more than 10 car lengths behind the Safety Car. Russell’s driving was in line with the FIA’s rules which require drivers to adhere to a slower delta time under yellow flags.
The stewards dismissed Red Bull’s second protest which accused Russell of “unsportsmanlike driving” behind the Safety Car. Wolff said teams should have a right to protest but is concerned the process is open to abuse.
“It’s absolutely legitimate to protest,” he said. “We are fighting for race wins and championships and if you have the opinion that what you’ve seen is not right, then you should protest.
“But some of these actions are just really not real. Protesting something that you call ‘unsportsmanlike behaviour’, a long shot, or you’re protesting a car not leaving 10 car lengths between himself and the Safety Car – well, he still needs to respect the delta.
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“So, there are things that, from my perspective, are legit[imate] to protest and others that are just a little bit of a too-long shot. And then you’re waiting two hours until you actually protest because you need to figure out on what to base it [on]. You take one protest back suddenly, and then we’re all there five hours.
“Everybody misses planes going home and we end up with a result that was a little bit predictable. That’s something that I thought was not necessary.”
Teams must pay a deposit of €2,000 (£1,700) to submit a protest, which is not returned if they lose. Wolff believes frivolous protests should result in a financial penalty.
“No one is a fan of higher fines,” he said. “It’s a lot of money and in Formula 1 we need to be careful that we are still being perceived as not over the top in relation to the normal world.
“But in that instance, absolutely put in a fine. I think the president of the FIA is working on that.
“Put in a fine that, at least if you lose it, is a little bit of an embarrassment that you lost so much money, and you’re going to think twice whether you do it. I think this is along the lines the FIA are thinking.”
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Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley, who was previously Red Bull’s sporting director, warned any fine would have to be significant to have an effect, which could have unintended consequences.
“I’m just looking at the situation – I’m not looking at the teams involved – I know that teams agonise over protests, but it’s so important that teams have a right to do that. I think if you take away that right or make it too prohibitive, you’ll end up with more problems.
“I like the transparency. I like the conversation that’s going on around it at the moment. I know people are talking about the amount of the fine and the amount of the protest fee and what have you.
“But in Formula 1, that would have to be quite [a] significant [amount]. I think it’s a healthy conversation going on about it at the moment.”
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