HOCKENHEIM (GERMANY): Red Bull and Ferrari considered protesting Mercedes after the dominant Formula One team switched their brand of brake discs without penalty before the start of Sunday’s German Grand Prix.
“We discussed it internally… we decided not to move forward with it,” Ferrari principal Marco Mattiacci told reporters after championship leader Nico Rosberg won the race for Mercedes with team mate Lewis Hamilton third.
Hamilton crashed heavily in qualifying after a front brake disc failure. He raced with a different brand while Rosberg changed the rear discs on his car.
Although the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said the change was within the regulations, Red Bull principal Christian Horner suggested the decision had set a precedent.
“It is a change of car specification,” he told reporters.
“If you change it like for like that is one thing, but if you change it for something that is made by a different manufacturer that has a different characteristic, as described by the driver himself as something different, then it is an interesting precedent.”
Horner, who said both his drivers had raced with Brembo brake discs similar to those used by Hamilton in qualifying, felt there was a need for further clarification from the FIA.
“Obviously if you can do that (change discs), then what else can you change? It will be interesting to see what the justification of that allowance was,” he said.
Mercedes have won nine of the 10 races so far, with champions Red Bull winning the other. (Reuters)