25/06/2017
NEWS STORY
Toto Wolff has confirmed that data provided to the race stewards in Baku prove that Lewis Hamilton did not brake test Sebastian Vettel following the second safety car re-start.
The German claims that as Hamilton led the field through Turn 15 he deliberately slowed causing the Ferrari to run into the back of the Mercedes.
"I didn't run into the back of him on purpose," he told reporters after the race. "I damaged my wing; he had a little damage as well.
"His restart was really good, I didn't think it was necessary," added the German. "The problem is me right behind getting ready and all the other cars. He did something similar a couple of years ago in China at the restart. It is not the way to do it."
However, Wolff revealed that the data provided to the stewards demonstrate that Hamilton did nothing unusual and drove at the same pace as he did at the first re-start.
"The only explanation I have, and I am not trying to protect Sebastian here, the only explanation I have is that Sebastian thought Lewis was braking testing him, which he wasn't," said the Austrian, "we have seen in the data and the safety car being 150m ahead, so that was a wrong judgement.
"I can't imagine he did it on purpose in shunting into him," he continued, "so I would like to speak to him personally and hear from him personally, to hear what he says about the incident rather than making a judgment without properly hearing or reading a statement."
Safety car rules make clear that the leader "may dictate the pace" of the pack but that all drivers must proceed at a pace "which involves no erratic acceleration or braking nor any other manoeuvre likely to endanger other drivers or impede the restart".
"First of all, the leading driver can manage the pace," said Wolff. "When he went into the turn the Safety Car was barely 150 metres in front of him and you could see from the start before that he almost caught the Safety Car over the Safety Car line. So there was never a question that at that stage he would accelerate... no way.
"Looking at the data, there was no brake involved," he insisted, "he went through the corner and off the throttle and Sebastian went into him. So, nothing wrong on Lewis' side, it's just unfortunate."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Baku, here.