Toto Wolff apologises to Red Bull as FIA fines Mercedes

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has issued an apology to Red Bull after Kimi Antonelli and Yuki Tsunoda collided in the pit lane at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The incident occurred during the final free practice session, triggering an investigation from the FIA stewards. The result was a fine of €10,000 for Mercedes.

Toto Wolff says sorry to Red Bull

Antonelli was released into the path of Tsunoda’s Red Bull. The result was contact and a shower of carbon fibre deposited in the pit lane, as Antonelli hit the right side of Tsunoda’s RB21.

“I had a massive crash,” Tsunoda reported to Red Bull over team radio.

Asked if he had damage, Tsunoda responded: “I think so, but he has the damage so… On the side of the sidepod.”

Tsunoda was forced to revert to an old floor for qualifying as a result of the incident.

Antonelli meanwhile came over the radio to challenge Mercedes’ release, “you told me ‘yes’ and it was… Tsunoda was coming.”

The stewards quickly began their investigation over an unsafe release, and sent a €10,000 fine the way of Mercedes. It was also confirmed that both cars had suffered damage in the collision.

“The Stewards heard from the team representatives from Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team and Oracle Red Bull Racing and reviewed video, team radio and in-car video evidence.

“The competitor of Car 12 conceded that the team was in a “bit of a rush” due to the prior red flag and also noted that there was no fault that could be attributed to the driver, as he was following the instructions of the team.

“The penalty applied is the same as that applied to a similar breach in this year’s Singapore Grand Prix.”

Wolff would apologise to Red Bull for Mercedes’ error.

“First of all, I’m sorry for Yuki, because I think we damaged all of the good bits of his car,” Wolff told Sky F1. “Was our mistake. We need to identify what happened.

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“The session was grim at the beginning, but then I think George [Russell] had a proper lap and that was good enough for P1. And with Kimi after the shunt in the pit lane, it was all messy, obviously. It’s going to be okay.”

This is Tsunoda’s final F1 race weekend, at least for now. It was confirmed ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that he will be dropped to Red Bull test and reserve driver next year.

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