Wolff believes that the fallout from last year’s Abu Dhabi controversy gave them confidence to withstand any outside pressure for the race to be finished under green flag conditions.
The safety car emerged late in the race after Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren stopped on track with an oil leak.
Marshals could not push the car because it was stuck in gear, and it took some time to get a crane from the other side of the track, as it had to wait for a gap in traffic.
Meanwhile, with some leading cars pitting and others not, and cars not allowed to overtake the safety car while the crane was in action, it took several laps for driver Bernd Maylander to get all the cars in line behind him and in the right order – having picked up George Russell in third place when coming out rather than leader Max Verstappen.
By then it was too late to resume the race, and it under safety car conditions.
Fans at the track made their reaction clear with boos and whistles. However, while rival team bosses questioned how events unfolded, Wolff was adamant that everything had been done by the book.
“Very clear, there’s rules, and they are written down,” said Wolff. “And from my perspective, whether I am Abu Dhabi traumatised or not, these rules have been followed to the dot today.
“There was a car out on track, there were marshals and a crane out there. That’s why they didn’t let anybody overtake.
“And then it was not enough time to restart the race once all cars caught up. So if one is not happy with the regulations, and you want to have a big bang show and two laps of racing, and then mayhem, I think I’m absolutely up for it.
“But then we need to change the regulations. So I don’t think we should complain about anything that happened because this is the rules.”
He added: “I’m really satisfied to see that there is a race director and colleagues that apply the regs against the pressure of the media and the pressure of the fans and everybody to just be in breach of the regulations.
“So at least Abu Dhabi, in that sense, gave the FIA more robust confidence to apply the regulations.”
Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes AMG
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Asked by Autosport if race control could have red flagged the race in order to ensure a green flag finish, Wolff dismissed the suggestion.
“Why red flag the race? If someone is in a wall, if the track is blocked, you red flag a race because you can’t pass anymore….
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Autosport.com – Formula 1 – Stories…