Mercedes wants to see consistency from FIA: 'We just have to accept it'

After the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the FIA was cautious in making decisions at Monza. It took a long time to remove Daniel Ricciardo's stranded car from the track, leaving not enough time for all lapped cars to catch up. The race was therefore ended behind the safety car.

Engineer Mike Elliott talks about the situation in the F1 debrief from Mercedes. The Briton would have liked his driver George Russell to have had a chance to make up a few more places after the safety car restart, but Elliott says the FIA made the right choice to ensure safety.

"From a team’s point of view, what we really want is consistency. We want to see the rules applied in the same way each time, so everybody knows what’s going to happen. I think once you say that, you’ve got a choice, do you have a red flag and a restart of the race, and three laps of racing, or do you want the driver that’s probably winning on merit, who’s been in that position over 50 laps of the race to go on and win the race. They’re difficult calls.

Mercedes: 'The right driver won'

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff had flashbacks to the title final in Abu Dhabi. There, Michael Masi made the decision to unlap only the cars between Verstappen and Hamilton. It is no secret that Mercedes thought the result was unfair, but according to the team, Verstappen rightly won at Monza. "I think in the way the race ended, actually the right driver won. The fact that that happened under a safety car, that’s just what happens in a race, and it’s something we just have to accept", Elliott says.