Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has criticised several Formula 1 teams after communication failures involving lapped cars disrupted the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Wolff’s frustration stemmed from a failure in the blue flag system, which meant drivers did not receive the usual dashboard warnings when faster cars were approaching to lap them.
The issue affected several on-track battles, including Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli’s pursuit of Max Verstappen, as slower cars failed to move aside promptly.
Speaking after the race, Wolff blamed rival teams for failing to keep their drivers informed.
“The marshalling system not functioning and cars at the back defending in the Lewis and Kimi fight. It’s disgraceful from some of the Teletubbies engineers that sit on the pit walls of these teams not telling their drivers what’s happening behind.”
Wolff said teams should have compensated for the technical failure by warning their drivers over team radio, rather than allowing backmarkers to interfere with the race at the front.
The communication breakdown also contributed to an incident involving Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz Jr., after Sainz made contact with Piastri while lapped. Piastri described the situation as “unacceptable”, while Sainz said the failure of the blue flag system played a role in the collision.
The incident has renewed debate over race communication procedures, with teams facing scrutiny over how they respond when automated systems fail during a Grand Prix.
