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Anyone catch this at Red Bull Ring last weekend? While I don't think the move was cool on Audi's part, it sort of fits the tone Mercedes is known for. Also, Ullrich is always mic'ed so you're going to hear whatever he says, even when he loses his patience. Whether or not Scheider heard him is more of a question. Scheider says he didn't and Ullrich says his radio only goes to the teams while the teams manages the drivers.

Any thoughts?

 

[FastEddie7]

My thoughts are its racing. Wickens was braking in front of Timo so Pasco could get by and started the initial "war". Whether Timo purposefully bumped both can be debated. IMO Timo meant to bump Wickens, and Pasco just so happened to be a casualty. The previous corner you can see both Wickens and Pasco intentionally block out Timo, Pasco even ends up hitting Wickens in order to do so. SO if dirty driving is going to be blamed it can start there. I believe Timo was just playing the game Mercerdes started. Dont start a war and cry about it when someone retaliates.

Also, if it wasn't for Ullrich saying on air to run them off the track i don't see how anyone could DQ Timo. The track was awful and by the end of the race NUMEROUS cars were flying off the road with no one pressuring them. Timo was clearly on the brakes before the contact so whether the contact could be blamed on purpose or weather conditions would be impossible. The only reason they can and did DQ him would be Ullrich and his statement. One more point would be look at Timo's front end. Hardly any damage (if any at all). If it was really malicious i think there would have been more damage. To me Timo was being just as aggressive as they were. They just have their panties in a bunch because the points leader didnt finish.

However with all this said, it was good racing and this type of stuff happens all the time. Cant wait to watch the next one.

 

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My thoughts are its racing. Wickens was braking in front of Timo so Pasco could get by and started the initial "war". Whether Timo purposefully bumped both can be debated. IMO Timo meant to bump Wickens, and Pasco just so happened to be a casualty. The previous corner you can see both Wickens and Pasco intentionally block out Timo, Pasco even ends up hitting Wickens in order to do so. SO if dirty driving is going to be blamed it can start there. I believe Timo was just playing the game Mercerdes started. Dont start a war and cry about it when someone retaliates.

Also, if it wasn't for Ullrich saying on air to run them off the track i don't see how anyone could DQ Timo. The track was awful and by the end of the race NUMEROUS cars were flying off the road with no one pressuring them. Timo was clearly on the brakes before the contact so whether the contact could be blamed on purpose or weather conditions would be impossible. The only reason they can and did DQ him would be Ullrich and his statement. One more point would be look at Timo's front end. Hardly any damage (if any at all). If it was really malicious i think there would have been more damage. To me Timo was being just as aggressive as they were. They just have their panties in a bunch because the points leader didnt finish.

However with all this said, it was good racing and this type of stuff happens all the time. Cant wait to watch the next one.

I agree with your assessment 100%.

The only other thing I'd add is that I think Ullrich's record for clean racing and good sportsmanship flies so far into the face of what everyone believes his him ordering to knock out drivers. I suspect, like everyone else, he was watching the battle on TV and got caught up in it. Mercedes, moreso than BMW, has a history of being super aggressive on the track with Audi. No doubt he was frustrated and simply said something. He's on mic and if he talks it broadcasts. He knows he's on mic, so why would he do that intentionally? Personally, it seems like he got caught up in the moment and then it actually happened (to Wickens AND Wehrlein no less) and it all looks so orchestrated. It just seems so unlikely anyone would do any of that on purpose or even could do it so deftly when you have the big picture.

 

[FastEddie7]

Definitely. Had the so called message never happened there is NO WAY they could prove it was intentional. Now they will say it is intentional just because of circumstance. Im sure Timo wanted to bump, just not that hard or that way. Especially after being bumped and blocked before.