Amidst the high-speed duels at Red Bull’s home turf, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, stirred the pot as he opened up on Max Verstappen’s “revenge foul” on Lewis Hamilton during the Sprint Shootout in Austria. The incident took place when Hamilton, who was navigating through the final sector in the hope of setting a scorching lap time, inadvertently obstructed Verstappen’s path, causing the Dutchman to overtake Hamilton into the first corner.

“Turn 1 was a revenge foul,” Wolff claimed, pointing to Verstappen‘s intent to sabotage Hamilton’s lap as retaliation. “One was not intentional, the other one was intentional – but who cares?“ ,he added as per Motorsport-Total, noting that the lack of communication from the team to Hamilton played a part in the incident. This, however, did not deter the Austrian boss from criticizing Verstappen’s action.

Hamilton’s disrupted lap time, ultimately landing him an unfortunate 18th place in SQ1, and Verstappen’s seemingly deliberate move sparked a fiery debate. In spite of the accusations, race stewards decided not to penalize either driver. Verstappen defended himself stating, “He blocked me into the last corner, so I had to brake more and I lost like three-tenths.” The Dutchman contended that he was merely trying to secure his lap time, hinting that Hamilton’s obstruction was a bit of a shame.

Read More: “Charles Leclerc Risking a Lot More”: RB Taskmaster Hails Max Verstappen Yet Again as He Rubs Salt in Ferrari Driver’s Age-Old Wounds

But why the absence of penalties?

Max Verstappen’s Unpunished “Revenge” on Lewis Hamilton

Toto Wolff’s dismissal of the controversy surrounding Max Verstappen’s ‘revenge foul’ on Lewis Hamilton confirms it is a minor incident. According to Wolff, it was a matter of insignificance.

“At the end, we looked at whether it was going to change our race or not,” Wolff stated, seemingly ending the debate. The incident did not result in a drive-through penalty or any other sanction. Mercedes’ own admission of a communication lapse that played a part in the incident might have influenced this decision. As we delve deeper, we uncover the details of this intriguing episode.