Wolff has ‘moved on’ from “polarising” Hamilton-Perez incident

Toto Wolff is taking the positives from Mercedes’ sprint race performance at the Belgian Grand Prix despite losing crucial points due to Lewis Hamilton’s penalty.
Toto Wolff (GER) Mercedes AMG F1 Shareholder and Executive Director. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 13, Belgian Grand
Toto Wolff (GER) Mercedes AMG F1 Shareholder and Executive Director. …

Hamilton finished fourth on track at Spa-Francorchamps but was hit with a five-second time penalty for an incident with Sergio Perez.

Like Hamilton, Wolff described the clash as a “racing incident”, however he was keen to focus on the positives from the 11-lap race.

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“Well you know I’d rather have a quick car that is doing good things and have a less optimal position in the sprint race than benefiting from others misfortunes and being unlucky,” he said. 

“I am OK with that. The incident was a racing incident.

“You can see it from both sides. But it’s more a racing incident than a penalty. Obviously that will be polarising.

Asked if Mercedes could appeal, he replied: "Once it is decided you can’t do anything. You have to move on."

It was a disastrous day for Perez, who had challenged Pierre Gasly for third before the incident with Hamilton.

Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull Racing RB19. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 13, Belgian Grand Prix, Spa Francorchamps,
Sergio Perez (MEX) Red Bull Racing RB19. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd…

The collision resulted in significant sidepod damage for Perez, ultimately forcing him out of the race.

Giving his opinion on it, he said: “Lewis just crashed into me and took the whole right-hand side of my car off so we basically lost all of the load.

“Unfortunately that meant no points today.”

Team boss Christian Horner added: “Unfortunately the contact, left front to sidepod has put a big hole in [Perez's] sidepod and then you lose so much downforce.

“You could see he lost so much performance and we had no choice but to retire the car. That was very unfortunate.”

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