Mercedes have accused Red Bull of trying to “tarnish” Lewis Hamilton with their comments after and since the British Grand Prix.
Team boss Christian Horner called the Briton a “dirty driver”, while motorsport advisor Helmut Marko wanted Hamilton banned for colliding with Max Verstappen at Copse corner on the opening lap at Silverstone.
As for the Dutchman, he too was critical of his championship rival, calling his victory celebrations “unsportsmanlike” and “disrespectful” while he was in hospital getting checks following his crash.
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On Thursday, however, FIA stewards rejected a request by Red Bull to review the seven-time world champion’s 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Verstappen, citing a lack of new evidence.
And within an hour, Mercedes issued this strongly worded statement: “The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team welcomes the decision of the stewards to reject Red Bull Racing’s right of review.
“In addition to bringing this incident to a close, we hope that this decision will mark the end of a concerted attempt by the senior management of Red Bull Racing to tarnish the good name and sporting integrity of Lewis Hamilton, including in the documents submitted for their unsuccessful right of review.
“We now look forward to going racing this weekend and to continuing our hard-fought competition for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 world championship.”
Calls for calm have come from figures like F1 motorsport boss Ross Brawn, but it appears they will fall on deaf ears as the Mercedes/Red Bull rivalry heats up.