Marko Asks a Brutal Question to Mercedes F1 Rival Wolff for Demanding Max Verstappen Punishment

Lewis Hamilton turned Brazil from a weekend to forget to a weekend to remember for Mercedes. Yet Team Principal Toto Wolff’s sour taste became bitter when an incident went unnoticed and unpunished by the stewards. Wolff demanded a penalty for the Red Bull driver, but Helmut Marko has responded to Wolff’s demands.

“Are we racing here or are we still in kindergarten?” Marko asked sarcastically to Toto Wolff as a response.

Marko enters the Brazil Grand Prix Telenovela

The entire weekend in Brazil was filled with the drama of the level, which would make Italian Telenovelas shy.

Although it’s not sure whether Ferrari levels of dramas were reached, but that’s a story for another day.

Ahead of the race at Interlagos, Lewis Hamilton picked up a five-place grid penalty for a PU upgrade. Then on Friday, Hamilton qualified P1 on the Sprint Qualifying.

But on Friday evening, a violation of the rear-wing regulations resulted in Hamilton starting from the last position on Sprint. Rival Max Verstappen was also summoned to the Stewards after he touched the ‘hot’ rear wing, and he walked out with 50,000 Euros less.

In Sprint Qualifying, a fired-up Lewis Hamilton made up 15 places in 24 laps and finished in P5.

This meant he started on P10 (engine penalty) in the race, but within the space of a few laps, he made his way up to P2, now behind his rival.

Hamilton, who was clearly more motivated, and importantly much faster, chased Max Verstappen. He almost made the move stick a lap earlier than he did, but Verstappen forced him off track, hampering Hamilton’s overtake by a lap.

Verstappen vs. Hamilton in Brazil

The onboard footage we’ve all been waiting for pic.twitter.com/0BSoo1TH6T

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 16, 2021

This incident was expected to land Verstappen a penalty, but it was waved off as a racing incident, much to Toto Wolff’s annoyance.

Christian Horner agrees with Helmut Marko

Naturally, Red Bull Team Principal seems to agree with Helmut Marko against Verstappen’s potential penalty.

“These are two guys racing hard against each other, but their wheels didn’t touch. They are racing for the world championship. A penalty would really not be appropriate unless it had ended in a collision,” he said as reported in GP Blog.

NUERBURG, GERMANY – OCTOBER 11: Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner and Red Bull Racing Team Consultant Dr Helmut Marko talk on the grid before the F1 Eifel Grand Prix at Nuerburgring in Nuerburg, Germany. (Photo by Peter Fox/Getty Images)

But words and statements aside, Mercedes have officially exercised their right to get the incident reviewed in hopes of a penalty to Max Verstappen.

F1 now heads to Qatar, the last race in what has been one of the most exciting months of F1 in recent memory.

Will the championship battles, the tempers, and the mind games reach their boiling point in the desert?

Also Read: Piers Morgan Demeans Max Verstappen After Lewis Hamilton Masterclass at Interlagos

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