Wolff happy with 'sporting' timing of protest Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Racing began Friday evening after the first free practice sessions with an official protest against Mercedes' DAS system. It's a protest that's been coming for a while and you would say Mercedes isn't happy with that, but Toto Wolff praises the way Red Bull handled it.

Once it became apparent during VT1 and VT2 that Mercedes would also be using the DAS-system this weekend, Red Bull Racing immediately prepared an official protest. According to the Austrian broadcaster ORF, the team rushed to do so, so this protest could be dealt with before qualifying.

Had they not done so, Mercedes wouldn't have enough time to adapt the cars in case of a possible ban on the DAS system, so they couldn't take part in the race. Wolff therefore speaks at the same station of 'fair play' and calls the management at Red Bull 'great sportmenship'.

Various media have already speculated that the timing of the protest also has to do with the rumour that Red Bull Racing has already developed its own version of the DAS system. In that case the team just wanted to know if they could use their system. Other teams would be sceptical about that theory because it would be impossible to develop this system in such a short time.