Mercedes boss Toto Wolff was surprised the Mexican Grand Prix stewards did not investigate Daniel Ricciardo for his first-lap collision with Valtteri Bottas.
Ricciardo hit the back of Bottas’ car at Turn 1, pitching the Finnish driver around into a spin. Ricciardo and Bottas both had to pit to fix the damage from the collision and spent the rest of the event running outside of the points.
Having looked at the replays, the race stewards decided the collision did not warrant further investigation.
Asked about the incident on Sunday evening, Wolff said: “Yes, I think the stewards should have a look into it but at that point.
“In hindsight, it was surprising that they didn’t look at a penalty.”
Turn 1 incidents are not always branded a racing incident, with Pierre Gasly penalised for a collision with Fernando Alonso at the first corner of the Turkish Grand Prix.
FIA race director Michael Masi can instruct the stewards to look at an incident but does not have a say in the outcome.
He denied the suggestion there was an inconsistency with decisions.
“No, I don’t think there is a lack of consistency as you’ve got to look at everything on certain merits,” Masi said on Sunday night.
“You’ve got to look at each and every incident and see how it goes. For starters Turkey was wet, this was dry. Completely different corner configuration. There’s a whole lot of things. But as I said, I haven’t looked at the incident in great deal whatsoever.”
Asked if the fact Ricciardo had made the apex of the corner before hitting Bottas made a difference, Masi said: “That could be a scenario.
“Having a look at the proximity of the cars of where they all are compared to each other, there’s a whole lot of different factors that come into it. The stewards’ view was that on this occasion it was a Turn 1 racing incident.”
Source: www.espn.com