F1: Toto Wolff admits Lewis Hamilton and himself are ‘disillusioned’ over controversial finale

Mercedes chief Toto Wolff has revealed his anger at the controversial way Lewis Hamilton was denied the world championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Wolff speaking publicly for the first time since Sunday’s race and in a fiery press conference that lasted for around 40 minutes revealed that he will ‘never overcome the pain’ of the dramatic last few laps that saw Hamilton lose out to Max Verstappen.

Wolff will not attend the traditional prize giving gala held by the FIA on Thursday night in Paris, where new world champion Max Verstappen will collect his championship trophy.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has spoken publicly for the first time since Sunday’s controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Mercedes were left in a fit of rage after Verstappen passed Hamilton on the final lap at the Yas Marina circuit to pip his fierce title rival to the world championship.

With the FIA race director Michael Masi allowing just the cars inbetween Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves a lap prior, Mercedes protested that sporting regulations were not followed.

However, the FIA soon threw out their claims after the race and on Thursday the team decided not to appeal the decision.

Sportsmail revealed on Wednesday how the influential matter in Mercedes standing down came from Hamilton who was against the idea of winning a record eighth world championship in a court room.

Wolff revealed that while Hamilton and himself will snub the Gala, Mercedes would still be represented by chief technical officer James Allison who will collect the team’s Constructors championship trophy which they in consolation they retained ahead of Red Bull at the Abu Dhabi finale.

‘Both of us won’t be there,’ Wolff added. ‘I won’t be there because of my loyalty to Lewis and because of my own personal integrity.

‘But we will be represented as a team by James Allison, who will be taking the trophy on behalf of all the people in Brackley and Brixworth who should celebrate our eighth consecutive world championship title, who deserve to be celebrated, because it’s a fantastic achievement that we are very proud of.”

Ironically, Hamilton’s absence from the Gala is a breach of F1 regulations – with the top three championship finishers mandated to attend.

Article 6.6 of F1’s Sporting Regulations states: ‘The drivers finishing first, second and third in the Championship must be present at the annual FIA Prize Giving ceremony.’

It is unclear whether the FIA will take further action against the seven-time world champion.

Hamilton has yet to speak out over his last-lap heartbreak that will go down as one of the most dramatic endings to a season in the history of Formula One.

But Wolff confirmed that the 36-year-old was still hurting from Sunday where he was magnanimous in defeat and sportingly congratulated Verstappen on his success. 

‘Lewis and I are disillusioned at the moment,’ Wolff said. ‘We are not disillusioned with the sport – we love the sport with every bone in our body and we love it because the stopwatch never lies.

‘But if we break that fundamental principal of sporting fairness and authenticity of the sport then suddenly the stopwatch doesn’t become relevant anymore because we are exposed to random decision-making, that it is clear you may fall out of love with.

‘That you start to question if all the work you have been putting in – all the sweat, tears and blood – can actually be demonstrated in terms of being the best possible performance on track, because it can be taken away randomly.

‘So it’s going to take a long time for us to digest what has happened on Sunday, I don’t think we will ever get over it. That’s not possible. And certainly not as a driver. We will never overcome the pain and the distress that was caused on Sunday.

‘Many of [the] values and beliefs were kicked on Sunday. So I would very much hope that Lewis continues racing because he’s the greatest driver of all time. When you look at it from the point of view of the last four races he was dominant, there was not even a doubt who won the race. And that was worthy of winning the world championship.

‘So we will be working through the events over the next weeks and months. I think as a racer his heart will say “I need to continue” because he’s at the peak of his game, but we have to overcome the pain that was caused upon him on Sunday, also because he is a man with clear values and it’s difficult to understand that that happened.’

More to follow…