Wolff: Red Bull's Canada appeal 'embarrassing'

Mercedes squad main Toto Wolff has labelled Red Bull's effort to protestation George Russell's triumph astatine the Canadian Grand Prix arsenic "petty" and "embarrassing."

After beating Max Verstappen to take Mercedes archetypal triumph of the play successful Montreal, Russell was called to the stewards connected Sunday evening aft Red Bull claimed helium had "displayed unsportsmanlike intent" by braking excessively down a precocious information car.

While Russell did deed the brakes down the information car, the stewards recovered thing erratic astir his car's behaviour and said reporting Verstappen overtaking the Mercedes down the information car, which is against the regulations, did not magnitude to unsportsmanlike conduct.

Over 5 hours aft the chequered flag, the stewards yet rejected the protestation saying it was not founded and confirmed Russell's triumph would stand.

Speaking to Sky Sports up of the motorboat of the F1 movie successful New York, Wolff slammed the actions of his rivals, who besides unsuccessfully protested Russell successful Miami for failing to dilatory nether yellowish flags.

"First of all, it took squad Red Bull Racing 2 hours earlier they launched the protest, truthful that was successful their doing. You know, honestly, it's truthful petty and truthful small," Wolff said.

"They've done it successful Miami. Now they launched 2 protests. They took 1 backmost due to the fact that it was ridiculous.

"They travel up with immoderate weird clauses, what they telephone clauses. I conjecture the FIA needs to look astatine that due to the fact that it's truthful farfetched it was rejected.

"You know, you race, you triumph and you suffer connected track. That was a just triumph for us, similar truthful galore they had successful the past. And it's conscionable embarrassing."

When Red Bull squad main Christian Horner spoke to media successful Canada conscionable aft launching the protest, helium said his squad besides planned to protestation the spread betwixt Russell and the information car aft the snake of cars near the pit lane connected thigh 69.

F1's rules authorities that the pb operator indispensable support a spread of 10-car lengths oregon little to the information car astatine each times, and Russell appeared to transcend that spread arsenic helium near the pits.

However, it emerged that Russell was complying with the clip delta appearing connected his dashboard, and erstwhile the details of the protestation were published aboriginal that evening determination was nary notation of Russell leaving much than 10 car lengths.

"One of them they really pulled arsenic a protest, they didn't adjacent travel it done due to the fact that it was nonsense," Wolff added.

"The 2nd 1 took america 5 hours due to the fact that I don't adjacent cognize what you notation to arsenic 'unsportsmanlike behaviour' oregon something.

"What is it each about? Who decides it? Because I'm 100% definite it's not Max, he's a racer.

"He would ne'er spell for a protestation connected specified a trivial thing."

Prior to the protest, Verstappen had told media that helium and Russell some felt the information car was moving excessively dilatory connected the backmost straight, which is wherefore they were trying to hurry it up and past needed to brake hard - indicating helium felt Russell had done thing wrong.

Sky Sports besides interviewed Horner successful New York, but the Red Bull brag said helium had nary regrets astir lodging the protest, which saw the squad forfeit a €2,000 deposit erstwhile it was rejected.

"No, perfectly not [no regrets]," Horner said. "I mean, it's a team's close to bash so. You know, we saw thing we didn't deliberation was rather right.

"You person the quality to enactment it successful beforehand of the stewards and truthful that's what we chose to do. Absolutely nary regrets successful that."