Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reportedly became embroiled in a furious row with Red Bull's Christian Horner during a heated meeting of F1 team principals ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix.
Wolff has seen the Silver Arrows fall far back from their time as the most fearsome force in the sport, with new regulations seeing them drop down the grid. Instead, it is Red Bull and Ferrari who are battling for wins, with Mercedes' best finish being third so far.
Drivers George Russell and Lewis Hamilton have been beset by problems with their car bouncing when going down high-speed straights. It is an issue that has affected most teams on the grid, with some drivers calling for the FIA to step in amid safety concerns.
And according to the Mail on Sunday , a meeting between the team principals of all the teams on the grid was held on Saturday. And during it an argument reportedly erupted over the bouncing problems that Mercedes in particular have faced.
The report quotes one witness to the meeting who states that Wolff 'lost his s***' as Horner took issue with his arguments. Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto also reportedly disagreed with Wolff, insisting that the Austrian was only unhappy because Mercedes had got their design wrong.
Wolff is said to have insisted that the other teams were 'deliberately perpetuating' a safety problem by sticking to the regulations. Horner fired back at the Mercedes boss, telling him to get his 'own house in order'.
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The other teams also raised eyebrows about the floor-stay that Mercedes ran on their cars during the Free Practice sessions. The stay, which is a metal tube, is used to make the ride smoother, but Mercedes removed it before qualifying as they feared protests from their rivals.
The stay is allowed under the technical directive the FIA issues on Thursday, though teams have questioned how Mercedes were able to make it so quickly. Wolff has reportedly been left fuming by the lack of support from his rivals, insisting that the bouncing is a clear safety issue that needs to be fixed.
"This is a sport where you're trying to keep a competitive advantage or gain it but this situation has gone too far. All drivers - at least one in every team - have said they were in pain after Baku, that they have difficulty keeping the car on track or blurred vision," he said.
"And team principals trying to manipulate what is being said in order to keep their competitive advantage and trying to play political games when the FIA tries to come up with a quick solution to at least put the cars in a better position is disingenuous and that's what I said.
"I'm not only talking about the Mercedes - all of the cars suffered in some way or other in Baku and still do here. The car is too stiff or the car is bouncing, whatever you want to call it. This is a joint problem we are having in F1. It's a design issue that needs to be solved.
"We will have long-term effects that we can't even judge and at any time this is a safety risk. Then coming up with little manipulations in the background or Chinese whispers or briefing a driver is just pitiful."
