Red Bull expected 100 million fines for Mercedes

 
The saga of secret Mercedes tire testing ended with a surprising outcome. Although the court found that the Mercedes team had broken the rules, the Silver Arrows received only a reprimand and exclusion from testing of young racers.

Mercedes Niki Lauda and Red Bull Helmut Marko even bet for 50 euros. Lauda, ​​the winner of the bet, sent a text message to Marko, and Marko, who described the court's decision as a joke, put it to his heart to save the money in an envelope. "We expected a much more severe punishment," Marko told German Bild. Bild, however, revealed that the Red Bull team proposed to the court a fine of $ 100 million, as the McLaren team had to pay due to the spygate affair, and the confiscation of 150 construction points.

But the outcome of the affair is favorable for Mercedes, which suffered the punishment it proposed to the court itself. “We were relieved,” admitted team co-owner Toto Wolff. "But we won't open champagne until we win the race."

Lauda added: “Fie’s decision is perfectly correct and entirely in the spirit of sport. They would not appeal even if they received a more severe punishment. I have been in this sport for decades and I was most concerned about harmony and mutual respect between the teams. In a sport where technology plays such an important role, there is always room for misunderstandings and different interpretations of the rules. ”