Mercedes will hold FIA Abu Dhabi commission 'accountable for its actions'

Toto Wolff says Mercedes will hold the FIA "accountable for the actions" that it will undertake in the wake of its investigation into the handling of the safety car procedures that turned F1's title decider on its head in Abu Dhabi.

The FIA stated on Wednesday that it will undertake "a detailed analysis and clarification exercise" involving teams and drivers to extract the hard lessons that need to be learned from F1's controversial season-ending round at Yas Marina that handed the title on a whim to Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

While Mercedes has conceded the race to Red Bull and dropped its intent to appeal a protest lodged by the German outfit that was rejected by the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix stewards, Wolff is expecting action, not just words, from the FIA to protect the sport and its competitors from a similar situation arising in the future.

"I would have been totally OK with Max and Red Bull winning the championship on Sunday, and this situation is nothing to do with Max," insisted Wolff who spoke to the media on Thursday for the first time since last Wednesday.

"He is a worthy champion. His driving is exceptional and Red Bull are fierce competitors. I have the greatest respect for the people working there, so this has nothing to do with them.

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"I would love to sit here and avoid all these discussions and the damage that has been done to the sport, by just integrity and sporting and fair decision making on Sunday.

"So the FIA needs to decide how they are going forward. We had a good dialogue with the FIA over the last few days and the commission that has been set in place.

"I have trust and faith that we will formulate, together with all of our competitors and the drivers of the other teams, the right decisions and actions to avoid such a scenario in the future.

"I expect the commission to not only come up with words but with actions, and we will hold them accountable for the actions," added the Austrian who owns one third of the Mercedes F1 team.

"We cannot continue in a sport that is meant to be sport followed by entertainment, not the other way around, and we are held ransom by ad hoc decisions in every field, in technical and sporting.

"So therefore, there needs to be clear measures in place before the start of the season, so every driver, every team and the fans understand what it is on and what is not on."

Although Mercedes welcomes the FIA's decision to investigate the events that unfolded at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and has vowed to work with the governing body to improve the "robustness of the rules", Wolff made clear that he had no interest in speaking with FIA race director Michael Masi anytime soon.

"I am not interested in having a conversation with Michael Masi," Wolff said.

"The decisions that have been taken in the last four minutes of this race have dropped Lewis Hamilton from a deserved world championship.

"His driving, particularly in the last four races, was faultless. He had a commanding lead on Sunday in Abu Dhabi from the get-go.

"He won the start and he never gave the lead away again. Robbing him in the last lap of the race is unacceptable.

"That is why, from a personal standpoint, from a professional standpoint I cannot… my values and my sense of integrity just isn't compatible with the decisions that have been made on Sunday.

"So it is up to the FIA to decide going forward how these decisions, how these situations, can be avoided."

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