Toto Wolff slams Helmut Marko

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Published on 15 May 2018 09:53
6
By: Danny Sosef

Toto Wolff has slammed Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko for alleging that Mercedes is receiving special treatment by F1 tyre supplier Pirelli. Already, Sebastian Vettel has suggested the new, thinner tyre tread supplied by Pirelli in Barcelona was a cause of Ferrari's sudden struggle.

"You don't have to be a genius to understand that the tyres get harder when you scratch off 4 millimetres. That's how other teams got on better than we did," the German told Bild newspaper.

Red Bull's Marko agrees: "The tyres were changed at the request of Mercedes. When you're a team and a manufacturer at the same time, you can do that. We produce energy drinks," he continued to Auto Bild. "Of course we cannot influence as much compared to a maker of passenger cars."

Mercedes boss Wolff, however, hit back at Marko's allegations. "It's not the first time the doctor sees ghosts," he said. "There were problems with blistering on the tyres in the winter tests, even at Red Bull. The rears looked like a volcanic landscape. So Pirelli improved them. It's bad for business if tyres explode. I think it looks weak if you have a bad weekend and complain. First and foremost, we look at ourselves for our problems," Wolff added.

F1 News Sebastian Vettel Susie Wolff Ferrari Mercedes Pirelli

Replies (6)

calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
Now I'd usually be willing to get ready to sell some tinfoil hats for statements like these, but I'll borrow one for this moment, because its the third time Pirelli made a midseason change that just happens to fit Merc' very well. But maybe its a coincidence.
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- May 17 2018 - 15:55
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  Wasn't this thoroughly debunked already? Even Sebastian saying that the race would have probably been worse with the old tyres?
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  May 18 2018 - 00:33
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Im actually not sure if its debunked that Merc' benefitted most from the new compounds, but as I say its probably a coincidence that Merc' were the ones to benefit the most, even if its a tad weird how they've managed to be the ones coming out better three years in a row after midseason changes.
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  May 18 2018 - 06:21
TimberVD

Posts: 42
Not a coincidence and it's not the first time Toto has been economical with the truth.

Like or hate Helmut, I do like how straightforward he is and not afraid to ruffle some feathers. He doesn't always get it right but it's again highly suspect circumstances that see Merc winning again. Calle, I'll have one of those hats please. XD
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- May 17 2018 - 20:13
RogerF1

Posts: 501
I don’t recall any other team having a big moan about tyres to that extent in the first 4 gp’s except of course we could see how poor Merc had been at switching this seasons tyres on.
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- May 17 2018 - 20:37
f1ski

Posts: 726
If there was never any intent to ensure Mercedes success they would have scraped the token system after the first year to make the racing competitive. Clearly when Mercedes had their vision of the hybrid system and drew the rules the other teams didn't quite grasp the possibilities and they were frozen in their ability to adapt. Changes in body work are allowed. If the change was not intended to help mb let the teams choose the tire they want
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- May 18 2018 - 14:39