Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff believes the incident between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in Baku is now a “closed chapter” in their season-long rivalry.
On Monday, the FIA opted not to retrospectively punish the Ferrari driver for deliberately banging wheels with Hamilton. Though there has been no official response from the Briton to the apology, Vettel later issued, a ‘like’ of a fan’s Instagram post claiming to have “lost all respect” for Formula 1’s governing body would indicate he is unhappy with that decision.
It also means he remains 14 points behind the 30-year-old heading into this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, the home race for Wolff who is now keen to move on.
“Every great F1 season is marked by a great rivalry,” he said. “Last year it was our internal battle between Lewis and Nico and this year it seems that the fight is on between Ferrari and Mercedes and Lewis and Sebastian.
“As calm as it started, it was only a matter of time until the rivalry would eventually become more fierce and controversial. That moment happened in Baku and we saw the results of that tension on track.
“We have moved passed that moment now and it is a closed chapter,” Toto would then declare. “The hearing on Monday was between the FIA and Sebastian and it reached the conclusion we have all seen.”
Despite the brief back and forth between Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda and Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene following the Azerbaijan race, Wolff is also keen to see the battle with the Scuderia will remain on good terms and help promote the sport.
“There is great respect between Mercedes and Ferrari, two iconic motor racing brands, not only because of the challenging battle on track but because we are pushing for the same goal: to see F1 flourish,” he claimed.
“The new owners could hardly have asked for a better start to this new era than this epic battle between Mercedes and Ferrari. Add to the mix a Red Bull team that can win as well and it makes F1 into a great spectacle.”
Looking ahead to the race in Spielberg, the first race on a more typical purpose-built racetrack since Spain, the boss of the defending world champions is confident minor flaws and weaknesses with the W08 are slowly being solved.
“Our focus since Baku has been on our own shortcomings, reviewing both the design and procedures around our headrest which cost Lewis the win two weeks ago.”
More generally he added: “We have made a step since Monaco in understanding what it takes to make our car perform. The sweet spot is still difficult to find – but we are starting to do so more regularly.
“Clearly, we are not the only team who took time to understand the combination of the new regulations and tyres – but we are making progress, step by step. And we must continue to do so in the next two weekends to maximise our points score.”