Toto Wolff does not agree with his colleagues at McLaren that Red Bull pushed the limits of sporting ethics in Singapore.
Spun as a parting gift to Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing’s sister team RB asked the Australian to pit late in the race in order to charge for the fastest overall race lap.
The 35-year-old was not eligible for the bonus point as he was outside the top 10, but the feat did deprive Max Verstappen’s championship rival Lando Norris of the bonus point.
"It’s disappointing from a sporting point of view," McLaren CEO Zak Brown said of the supposed on-track collusion between the two Red Bull-owned teams.
"There shouldn’t be A and B teams or sporting collusion on the track," he charged. "And that’s exactly what it was. Hopefully this point won’t make the difference in the end."
But when asked about Brown’s and McLaren team boss Andrea Stella’s claims of poor sportsmanship, Mercedes boss Wolff did not agree with the accusations of the similarly Mercedes-powered team.
"I think you probably have to use all the strategies you have," Wolff, usually a strong ally of McLaren and fierce critic of Red Bull, answered.
"I don’t think it was an unsportsmanlike action. Not at all," the Austrian added.
"Championships can come down to one point, and what they (Red Bull) did was within the rules, the drivers were not unfair to each other on the track - Ricciardo simply did the fastest lap.
"No problem," Wolff said.