Red Bull and Ferrari were the only teams to lodge a protest after news of the
tyre test broke ahead of Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, but support is
beginning to emerge from elsewhere in the paddock.
Mercedes are waiting to hear from the FIA whether they will face a hearing of
the governing body’s International Tribunal after a report from the Monaco
Grand Prix stewards.
Mercedes and Pirelli maintain they are innocent of wrongdoing. Mercedes insist
no new car parts were tested, while Pirelli says the German team were not
granted access to information on the tyres being run.
Mercedes further claim that the FIA gave them permission to undertake the
test, although the governing body maintains its approval was conditional on
other teams being offered the chance to take part.
The reluctance of the other teams to support the official protest was met with
a tart response by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who said: “They
all say ‘We’re behind you’… just four miles further back.”
Lotus team principal Eric Boullier was one of those asked to join with the
protest but opted against doing so, yet he is in no doubt Mercedes are in
breach of the regulations.
“Our position is there is a sporting regulation in place, there is even a
testing agreement in place between the teams, and what took place is a
breach of the sporting code,” said Boullier.
“Whatever permission was given, it should be allowed to everybody – or at
least to make everybody aware – and not to test alone somewhere.”
Asked whether Mercedes would have gained any advantage, Boullier replied:
“Sure, you can gain any advantage by doing this.
“If they did it, I think it was mainly because they thought they could have an
advantage, but it is more about the breach of the sporting code.”
What appears to have angered most of the teams is that none of them were made
aware of the test until it leaked out in a Grand Prix Drivers’ Association
meeting in Monaco on Friday.
Meanwhile Hamilton has snapped back at Sebastian Vettel following the
champion’s criticism of Mercedes after the Monaco Grand Prix.
Vettel described race-winner Nico Rosberg and team-mate Hamilton as like “two
buses going for a cruise” over the first few laps as they preserved their
tyres in the opening stages, backing up the pack.
After starting from the front row, but given their tyre woes during grands
prix this season, it was a tactic that worked for Mercedes.
In response to Vettel’s dig, Hamilton said: “He has had the fastest car for
the last four years, so it’s easy for him to say that. He’s got it easy.
“We are making our way up, we are learning, growing, improving with a car that
has great potential, so I don’t agree with him.”
Hamilton has also apologised to Mercedes for his Monaco mistake, which he says
he is now eager to atone for.
The Brackley-based team were on course for a one-two finish following their
qualifying lock-out of the front row.
For the opening 29 laps all was going to plan as Rosberg led Hamilton until an
accident involving Felipe Massa brought out the safety car for the first
time this season.
It prompted a flurry of pit stops, with the Mercedes duo the last to change
tyres and with Hamilton the loser as he dropped from second to fourth behind
Red Bull duo Vettel and Mark Webber.
In order to avoid double stacking directly behind Rosberg, the 28-year-old
slowed and tried to maintain a gap he believed would help, only for it to
backfire.
“I wasn’t great under the safety car. The double pit stop didn’t help and the
safety car didn’t help,” said Hamilton.
“It wasn’t the team’s fault, it was my mistake. I was told to have a
six-second gap and perhaps I had a bit more than six seconds, so I lost out
massively. I slowed down far too much. When I came round into the pit lane
Nico had already done his stop and was gone, so that was really my fault.
“I apologise to the team if I lost them any points because without the safety
car I think we could have had a one-two, so (I was) a little unfortunate.”