Mercedes boss Toto Wolff crowd surfs at party post "manipulated" Red Bull F1 win
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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff might have been seething when he left the track at Abu Dhabi on Sunday night – but he was soon partying wildly off it.
Wolff, 49, was incensed when FIA race director Michael Masi changed his mind over safety car rules at the Yas Marina, ultimately giving Max Verstappen the chance to overtake Lewis Hamilton on the final lap and be crowned F1 world champion.
Hamilton had dominated proceedings after overtaking Verstappen from the off, and seemed certain to claim a record-breaking eighth title as he held an 11-second lead over his rival in the latter stages.
A crash for Williams driver Nicholas Latifi dramatically changed the landscape however, and Verstappen pitted before remerging on fresh tyres. It appeared a futile move when Masi instructed that the lapped cars between Hamilton and the Dutchman could not overtake the safety car.
However, Masi then changed his mind on the penultimate lap, allowing Verstappen to be on Hamilton's tail when racing restarted on the final lap – and on worn tyres the British driver was a sitting duck.
As the drama unfolded, Wolff was heard shouting at Masi "No Michael, this is so not right," and the german refused to address the media after the race. He continued that stance after two protests from Mercedes over potential rule breaches were thrown out.
After the dramatic proceedings, an unheard radio message emerged of Hamilton speaking to his team, in which he could be heard saying: "This has been manipulated man."
What did you make of Toto Wolff's wild antics? Let us know in the comments section.
The 'Silver Arrows' immediately served notice of an intent to appeal, after which Wolff was filmed storming away from the venue.
However, it appeared that an appeal, which Mercedes have until Thursday to activate, was the last thing on Wolff's mind a few hours later after he rocked up at an Abu Dhabi nightclub.
And he wasn't there for a quick drink either, giving younger party goers a run for their money by dancing wildly, posing for photos with fans, and even crowd surfing.
F1 photographer Lydia Harper managed to capture images of Wolff’s antics, which soon went viral after she shared them to her Instagram story.
Perhaps the Team Principal and CEO was celebrating a Constructors' title win – a factor lost amongst the chaos that surrounded the finale to the drivers' championship.
Hamilton's second placed finish, complimented by the outgoing Valtteri Bottas coming sixth and Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez not finishing, was enough to secure an eighth successive crown for Mercedes.
- Red Bull Racing
- Lewis Hamilton
- Max Verstappen
- Mercedes
- Formula One
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