Wolff warns F1 rivals over data sharing accusations
Aug.19 - Toto Wolff has slammed as "complete nonsense" claims that Mercedes is in the wrong over the 'pink Mercedes' affair.
With the matter set to proceed to the international court of appeal, tensions continue to rise amid reports Mercedes gave Racing Point a scale wind tunnel model of its 2019 car.
Racing Point, to become Aston Martin next year, claims it designed its 2020 car solely on the basis of photos.
Wolff insists that arguments to the contrary are "complete nonsense".
"Copying the car from more than photos is something we would know about," he insisted, according to Auto Bild.
"Therefore, from my point of view, it is complete nonsense to pursue this argument. And I will definitely defend our brand if someone should go down this path."
However, it is clear that the arguments will continue to intensify.
Haas boss Gunther Steiner, for one, says he is not surprised that Wolff's denials are so vehement.
"He should do that, because apparently they gave Racing Point data, which is not allowed," he said. "Just like Ferrari would never give us data."
Wolff, though, claims the competition between the teams has simply spilled out into the political sphere.
"I think the Racing Point case is an opportunity for our direct competitors to push us hard," he said.
But it's not just Mercedes and Racing Point's rivals who see a problem. Former driver Christian Danner told Sport1: "What happened with Racing Point is beyond anything that has ever happened.
"Alain Prost said something like 'if this is ok, then we can all pack up. What we are doing is something, but it's not Formula 1'.
"I have to say I agree with him," Danner added.
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If it is designed from photography it is 3D scanning photography which is used to reverse engineer components in many industries but which could not be done without the cooperation of Mercedes. If the courts or the FIA are allowed to investigate this is easy enough to determine as small differences that are discernable on 3D point cloud generation are easily identifiable but if there are none then the only way that is possible is if the reverse engineering had Mercedes collaboration.