Susie Wolff says the controversy surrounding the Formula 1 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has left her with a “sick feeling”, believing Lewis Hamilton was “robbed” in the title decider.
No senior members of the Mercedes team have spoken since Sunday’s race, in which Max Verstappen was crowned world champion after overtaking Hamilton on the final lap.
The aftermath of FIA race director Michael Masi’s decision to only allow five lapped cars to overtake behind the safety car has called into question the integrity of F1’s governing body.
Masi seemingly overruled the sporting regulations regarding lapped cars prior to a safety car restart, leading to Mercedes lodging an intention to appeal the result.
The Brackley-based outfit announced on Thursday that it had withdrawn its appeal, despite still struggling to comprehend the outcome from the season finale.
In a statement issued on Thursday morning, Wolff, wife of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and CEO of the Venturi Formula E team, said he was still in “utter disbelief” at the outcome in Abu Dhabi.
“Going into this final weekend, I believed both teams and drivers deserved to win,” Wolff said. “It was going to be a spectacle, a historic race that we all hoped would end without controversy. That wasn’t to be.
“What happened is still hard to comprehend and leaves me with a sick feeling. Not losing – and not Max or Red Bull – they are deserving winners and we always knew it was a strong possibility we may not win – but the way in which Lewis was robbed has left me in utter disbelief.
“The decision of one person within the governing body who applied a rule in a way which has never been done before in F1 single-handedly decided the F1 drivers’ world championship. Rules are rules, they can’t be changed on a whim or by one individual at the end of the race.”
The FIA published its own statement following the outcry of the events in Abu Dhabi, pledging to investigate the incident further in a bid to improve F1’s rules and procedures going forward.
Susie Wolff went on to praise Lewis Hamilton’s dignified reaction in losing out on a record-breaking eighth championship, while also congratulating Verstappen on his first world title.
“Lewis Hamilton, you have shown incredible integrity and dignity in the face of injustice,” she said. “You are the greatest there has ever been.
“The outcome of the last laps on Sunday? Those who know, they know, even those who can’t quite bring themselves to admit it.
“Congratulations Max and congratulations to each and every member of Mercedes-AMG F1 on your record-breaking eighth constructors’ title.
“I hope by March of next year there is a governing body with sporting integrity and fairness at its core so I can fall back in love with F1.”
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