The attention of the Formula One world was captured during the final laps of an otherwise sedate Italian Grand Prix when Lewis Hamilton was demanded to rapidly increase his pace after cruising for much of the afternoon. No reason was given, and the championship leader was told not to ask any questions.
Hamilton crossed the line an impressive 25 seconds clear of Sebastian Vettel in second, but confusion reigned supreme in the paddock until a single-sentence announcement by the FIA called for Mercedes to report to the race stewards.
The allegations were serious – Pirelli believed Mercedes had run illegally low tyre pressures from the start of the race. If found guilty, the punishment would be disqualification.
For two hours and forty minutes – twice as long as the grand prix itself – fans, the press, and the teams alike held their breath waiting for the verdict. When Mercedes was eventually found not guilty, many were left dissatisfied.
Pirelli sets guidelines for the usage of tyres, including minimum pressures, for each event, and it had increased the minimum in Italy compared to last year in light of the two tyre punctures on the cars of Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel at the last race at Spa-Francorchamps.
In the time between the report and the verdict, the paddock had made up its mind – Mercedes had made a grave breach of a technical safety rule and ought to be excluded from the race results.
Moreover, Pirelli and the FIA had told the teams in no uncertain terms that there would be repercussions for attempting to work around the regulations by keeping the tyres at such a temperature that they would reduce in pressure once on the race track, making the stewards’ reasoning as to why it had decided against a penalty confusing.
“The stewards have determined that the pressure in the tyres concerned were at the minimum start pressure recommended by Pirelli when they were fitted to the car,” read the post-race statement.
“In making this determination regarding the pressures, the stewards noted that … the tyres were significantly below the maximum permitted tyre blanket temperature at the time of the FIA’s measurement on the grid.
“The stewards recommend that the tyre manufacturer and the FIA hold further meetings to provide clear guidance to the teams on measurement protocols.”
On the one hand Mercedes is adamant the way the guidelines were policed is the reason it was caught out and that it did not intentionally break the rules.
But on the other hand the other teams had no trouble abiding by Pirelli’s instructions and have reason to feel aggrieved that the championship leading team appears to have broken a clear safety protocol.
So it was that Mercedes left Italy with Lewis Hamilton’s win intact, but its reputation has taken a hit in the latest controversial chapter of Formula One’s relationship with Pirelli.
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