Wolff: We were wrong to impose team orders

10/12/2016
NEWS STORY

Having already revealed that no further action will be taken, Mercedes boss admits Abu Dhabi team orders call was wrong.

It's amazing how one's view can change in just a few days.

In the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and Lewis Hamilton's refusal to up his pace and stop forcing his teammate into the clutches of the Red Bulls, Toto Wolff described the Briton's behaviour as "anarchy".

Having ignored the calls from his engineer Peter Bonnington, Hamilton then went on to blatantly disregard the subsequent orders issued by Paddy Lowe who feared that it was not only Rosberg's position in danger but that of the Briton himself as Sebastian Vettel closed in on fresher rubber.

Though Rosberg was able to hold off his countryman for second and thus take the title, the mood in the Mercedes camp was far from happy, and while Wolff talked of Anarchy in the UAE, there was widespread speculation as to what punishment Hamilton might expect.

In the wake of Rosberg's decision to retire from F1 however, Wolff revealed that Hamilton would not be censured for his actions. Now, as the German team searches for a replacement for Rosberg, Wolff has gone one step further, insisting that Hamilton did nothing wrong in the first place.

"In the heat of the moment, sometimes when you make decisions you get them wrong," the Austrian told Sky Sports F1. "In our mind, the way we think, this race was giving us the same number of points as other races and we try to win that one, not considering that there was much more at stake for the drivers.

"How the race panned out, we should have communicated differently," he continued, "and in hindsight let them race in the way they deemed to be appropriate."

Give it another few days and Wolff will be claiming it was Rosberg in the wrong and that he should be penalised thereby handing the title to Hamilton.

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Published: 10/12/2016
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