Jul.7 (GMM) Felipe Massa has played down the furore surrounding the Mercedes drivers’ latest crash, saying what happened in Austria was just a “racing incident”.
Before Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg headed to Silverstone on Thursday, they started the day at Mercedes’ nearby Brackley HQ for a stern meeting with boss Toto Wolff.
It is believed Wolff will warn them of strict and clear consequences if they continue to tangle, although team orders have been avoided for now.
“We will present them with a new concept,” team chairman Niki Lauda told Bild newspaper.
Marc Surer, a former F1 driver and now German-language TV pundit, said Mercedes has taken the right decision.
“Yes,” he told Germany’s Sky broadcaster. “Many people say formula one is already boring because of Mercedes, so to introduce team orders would only have made it worse.”
1996 world champion Damon Hill agrees, declaring that if Mercedes had brought down team orders, the drivers would probably have ignored them anyway.
And “fans would rebel against the idea”, he added.
Williams driver Massa, meanwhile, can’t see what all the fuss is about.
He told Brazil’s Band News FM: “I think it was a racing incident.
“On the last lap, who wouldn’t try to fight for position? It’s totally normal.
“In my view it was a racing accident, but when it’s with two drivers from the same team it causes a big problem,” added the F1 veteran.