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Mercedes chief Toto Wolff believes that the gloves are now off between title contenders Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. During the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the two made contact twice under the safety car, with Vettel receiving a ten-second stop and go penalty.
At the safety car restart, Hamilton rounded turn 15 only to find Vettel hitting into the back of him. Infuriated by the incident, Vettel drove up along side him and hit the Brit sideways on. After the race, Hamilton slammed Vettel, stating that his driving was disgraceful.
"Nobody wanted to see the schmoozing anyway, so now the gloves are off," said Wolff. "The sport needs the rivalry. What we have seen today is the ingredient of a great championship. They are warriors. They are at war at that moment. They are fighting for the race wins and the championship.
"At a certain stage, the best ones that compete for the world championship in that phase of their careers can't be friends. Maybe we've seen the limit of that respect today."
Speaking about the incident, Wolff said that Vettel knows what he did doesn't look good, but would like to speak to him personally about the incident: "Sebastian will know that didn't look great.
"I can't almost imagine he would shunt him on purpose. I would like to speak to him personally rather than making a judgement. If a driver does that on purpose and in anger then you have to think about the size of the penalty. He is a four-time world champion and we are is setting examples in Formula 1 about what is allowed and what is not."
Fergal Walsh
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