In the FIFA World Cup semi-final of 1986 between Argentina and England, the game was scoreless at half-time. And then, one of the most controversial moments in football happened; Maradona scored, but he scored with his hand. “Mano de Dios” or the Hand of God, as it was called, was immortalized in history. And 35 years later, in Formula 1, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff suggests that something similar happened to them in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking after announcing that they won’t be appealing any further, Wolff compared the Maradona goal with the injustice of Abu Dhabi.

“It’s an injustice that is definitely on par with Maradona’s Mano de Dios or 1966 Wembley goal,” Wolff said as reported in Formula Passion.

Wolff clearly held the race director guilty and suggested that even if they take the result to court, the odds would be stacked heavily against them.

“An inconsistent decision by the race director took the title away from Lewis. We could appeal, yes, and we would have won in any court, but we didn’t want to win the title like that,” Wolff said.

“And then the FIA ​​would have been the accused and the judge at the same time: we would have been in a situation of powerlessness, just like Sunday.” (Translated via Google Translate)

Toto Wolff is disillusioned but remains a class act

The Austrian described how he and Hamilton are both disillusioned – “our hearts cry”. 

“When the principles of sport are not respected and the stopwatch is no longer worth anything, one begins to question whether all the work, the blood, the sweat and the tears are worth shedding.”

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But regardless of that, Wolff has shown his class as he described his exchange with Verstappen. He said, “Exchange of congratulations with Max? Yes, I can confirm. He replied ‘ Thank you very much, it was a tough fight, I can’t wait for next year ‘.”

The pain of defeat is clear for Mercedes. They’ve expressed their disappointment by boycotting the FIA awards ceremony and putting out targeted statements.

Yet, the best way for them to reply would be to fight back, dominate and crush their opposition by their superiority on the track, as they’ve done in recent years.

Also Read: Lewis Hamilton Fans Set Up a Website to Directly Mail a Letter to the FIA