The British Grand Prix was an eventful and adrenaline-filled race, but not for the right reasons. In the opening laps of the race, Lewis Hamilton took out race leader Max Verstappen in what turned out to be a 51G crash. This enraged Red Bull, who soon complained to the FIA, asking for a penalty for Hamilton. However, Mercedes didn’t stay quiet either, as Toto Wolff, too, wrote an email to the race director, Michael Masi.
So, what was in that email that the Austrian boss sent to Masi? Well, it is safe to assume that it was to protect Hamilton from any harsh penalty.
What did Toto Wolff write in his email to Michael Masi?
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Tensions were high even after Hamilton took the checkered flag at his home race. Fans and spectators eagerly wanted to know what Wolff write to Masi.
Explaining the diagrams he sent to Masi in the email, Wolff said, “Who owns the corner and not only the exit.” (Between Max Verstappen & Lewis Hamilton)
“And at the end you know they were racing each other hard, so you must take that. The stewards expressed a penalty and that was 10-seconds. I guess because it was high speed, it is what it is.”
Watch Story: When F1 Drivers Had a Blast on Top Gear Featuring Hamilton, Vettel & Ricciardo
Masi wasn’t pleased to see Wolff’s mail
When the session was red-flagged because of debris on the track, Wolff sent his mail to Masi, who wasn’t exactly pleased to see it.
During their interaction on the radio, Wolff said, “Michael, this is Toto. Michael, I just sent you an email, with the diagrams. Where the car should be? Did you receive that?”
Masi responded, “Toto, I don’t access my email during the race deliberately cause I have to concentrate on the race.”
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Mercedes‘s boss wasn’t ready to give in, and said, “Well you should be able to look at this cause there is something with the rules. I am coming up.”
Masi wasn’t backing down either and replied, “Feel free to go upstairs and see the stewards.”
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In the end, Hamilton was awarded a 10-second time penalty, which he served in the pits. However, the Knight was able to overcome that obstacle and bring home a win at Silverstone for Wolff & Co. Later, the FIA also awarded the Brit with two penalty points for the same incident.
Read More: Wolff: It Is ‘My Duty’ to Give Bottas a ‘Great Future’ if Mercedes F1 Let Him Go