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23rd
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Adapted from GMM
Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda made a bet with Red Bull's Helmut Marko over the outcome of the "test-gate" tribunal hearing, in which Mercedes was found guilty.
Indeed, Austrians Lauda and Marko made a bet in the midst of the scandal in which the 'loser' would have to pay EUR 50 to the winner.
Lauda sent Marko only a text message.
"Punishment is punishment," Marko told Bild. "He should put his money in an envelope."
But actually, it is hard to see Lauda as the loser of the bet because, as it happens, Mercedes is happy with the outcome.
"It is a relief," admitted team director and co-owner Toto Wolff, "but we only pop champagne bottles when we win on the track."
Lauda added: "The decision of the FIA is absolutely correct, and in the spirit of motor racing."
But he insists that Mercedes also would have accepted a harsher penalty.
"Without doubt we would not have appealed a harsher judgement," triple world champion Lauda told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
"I've been in this sport for decades, and what I was concerned about the most was the harmony and mutual respect between the teams.
"In a sport where technology plays such an important role, there will always be misunderstandings and room for interpretation -- it's completely normal."
Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda made a bet with Red Bull's Helmut Marko over the outcome of the "test-gate" tribunal hearing, in which Mercedes was found guilty.
Indeed, Austrians Lauda and Marko made a bet in the midst of the scandal in which the 'loser' would have to pay EUR 50 to the winner.
Lauda sent Marko only a text message.
"Punishment is punishment," Marko told Bild. "He should put his money in an envelope."
 |
| Helmut Marko (right) (Photo: Red Bull Racing) |
But actually, it is hard to see Lauda as the loser of the bet because, as it happens, Mercedes is happy with the outcome.
"It is a relief," admitted team director and co-owner Toto Wolff, "but we only pop champagne bottles when we win on the track."
Lauda added: "The decision of the FIA is absolutely correct, and in the spirit of motor racing."
But he insists that Mercedes also would have accepted a harsher penalty.
"Without doubt we would not have appealed a harsher judgement," triple world champion Lauda told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
"I've been in this sport for decades, and what I was concerned about the most was the harmony and mutual respect between the teams.
"In a sport where technology plays such an important role, there will always be misunderstandings and room for interpretation -- it's completely normal."