F1: Mercedes chief alleges double standards after Lewis Hamilton's comeback win

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has accused the FIA stewards of showing double standards after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from qualifying at the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend for a rear wing infringement. The Austrian also accused Max Verstappen of "crossing the line" when he seemed to have pushed his Mercedes title rival off the track as they were battling for the lead.

Hamilton overcame a 25-place grid penalty over two races to claim a famous win at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo on Sunday to reduce the deficit in the championship to 14 points. The British racer started the sprint race on Saturday in 20th place before a storming drive saw him finish in fifth place.

The Mercedes driver already had a further five-place drop for the race for taking on a new Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) that saw him start Sunday's race in 10th place. Hamilton made light work of the cars ahead of him and was quickly in second place behind Verstappen before the first round of pitstops.

Hamilton eventually took the lead with 11 laps remaining, but a contentious moment arrived ten laps prior when the Mercedes driver tried to overtake the Red Bull racer going into turn 4. Verstappen refused to cede the corner and ended up pushing Hamilton wide, as he too left the track. The stewards looked into the matter but decided that no investigation was necessary allowing the two championship contenders to settle it out on track.

Wolff was not happy about the decision, and claims even Verstappen was aware that he deserved at least a five second penalty for causing the incident. The Mercedes chief feels that his team were on the wrong end of all the decisions this weekend, especially since Red Bull were not penalised in the previous race in Mexico, when they continually worked on their rear wing in Parc Ferme conditions.

"I mean the whole weekend went against us," Wolff said, as quoted on F1.com. "We had a broken part on our rear wing which we couldn't look at, couldn't analyse... and after [we were] disqualified – very harsh. And after you see Red Bull repair three times on the rear wing whilst being in Parc Ferme, with no consequence."

"Absolutely an inch over the limit, but he needed to defend, but Lewis just managed it even more brilliantly by avoiding the contact and end the race that way. That was just over the line – should have been a five second penalty at least – and probably Max knew that. Just brushing it under the carpet is just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, it's laughable," the Mercedes team principal added.

Hamilton's drive to overcome the setbacks and take the win has been hailed by the driver himself and Wolff as probably one of the best performances of his career.