Wolff: Title fight would have prompted 'closer look' at Tsunoda DNF

40

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff says he would have taken a closer look into the issue that sidelined AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda from Sunday's Dutch Grand Prix had his team been fighting for the world title.

The Japanese driver pulled off the track on lap 43 of 72, just after his second pitstop, as he felt that something was not right with one of his car's wheels.

Tsundoa was nevertheless ordered to continue, but the AlphaTauri charger undertook a second stop to tighten his seatbelts which he had loosened as he was convinced that he would abandon his car.

He rejoined the race but was ordered to stop permanently by his team which claimed to have picked up some worrying data.

Read also: Tsunoda 'drifting' car failure under investigation by AlphaTauri

The stoppage triggered a Virtual Safety Car that delivered a timely free pitstop to future race winner Max Verstappen, who retained the lead from Lewis Hamilton after his stop.

On social media, conspiracists immediately suggested that Red Bull had perhaps orchestrated Tsunoda's stoppage to benefit Verstappen.

When the wacky theory was put to Wolff, he surprisingly didn't deny it outright.

"I don’t know, I’m so looking at us at the moment in terms of where do we need to find performance," said the Austrian.

"If we were to fight for a championship that would be something I would closely look at."

Tsunoda was handed a reprimand – his fifth of the season – by the FIA stewards for driving his car without his seatbelts properly attached.

But Wolff believed the sequence of events surrounding the incident warranted an investigation.

"Now I think what needs to be investigated for the safety of drivers and everybody out there, the driver stopped, unbuckled, did a full lap, came in, the problem wasn’t solved, they put the seatbelts back on and he drove out and stopped the car again," he said.

"So I mean that probably could have changed the race that maybe we could have won, but in this sport maybe is anyway irrelevant."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.