Mercedes deny Toto Wolff furious after Hungary

Toto Wolff the Mercedes GP Executive Director looks on from the pitwall during day four of Formula One Winter Testing at the Circuito de Jerez on January 31, 2014
© Getty Images
Mercedes deny that Toto Wolff was furious when Lewis Hamilton gave up a podium spot to Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in Hungary.

Mercedes have denied that Toto Wolff was furious when Lewis Hamilton gave up a podium spot to Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in Hungary.

Video footage has emerged of the team boss slamming the desk, his chair and angrily shouting at Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda at the moment Bottas swept past his British teammate.

Wolff admitted that switching the drivers while Hamilton is fighting for the world championship was one of the toughest decisions since he has been in charge of Mercedes.

"Sometimes doing it the right way and standing by your values is fucking tough, believe me. I feel crap," he said.

As for the video evidence that watching the outcome of his decision actually made Wolff lose his temper, a team spokesman said: "No.

"It was simply the release in tension as they crossed the finish line. The guys were really happy with the position swap."

The spokesman told Auto Bild that any confusion was because the swap of positions was not seen by those in the Mercedes pits live.

"So we had to look at the timing monitor. When it was over, Toto called out but it was a very exciting situation and certainly there was no anger about the outcome. On the contrary," he added.

Mercedes have a 39-point lead over Ferrari heading into the summer break.

Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes GP leads Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP into the first corner during the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya on May 10, 2015
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TeamPoints
1Mercedes357
2Ferrari318
3Red Bull184
4Force India101
5Williams-Mercedes41
6Toro Rosso39
7Haas29
8Renault26
9McLaren11
10Sauber5
DriversTeamPoints
1Sebastian VettelFerrari202
2Lewis HamiltonMercedes188
3Valtteri BottasMercedes169
4Daniel RicciardoRed Bull117
5Kimi RaikkonenFerrari116
6Max VerstappenRed Bull67
7Sergio PerezForce India56
8Esteban OconForce India45
9Carlos SainzToro Rosso35
10Nico HulkenbergRenault26
11Felipe MassaWilliams-Mercedes23
12Lance StrollWilliams-Mercedes18
13Romain GrosjeanHaas18
14Kevin MagnussenHaas11
15Fernando AlonsoMcLaren10
16Pascal WehrleinSauber5
17Daniil KvyatToro Rosso4
18Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren1
19Marcus EricssonSauber0
20Jolyon PalmerRenault0
21Antonio GiovinazziSauber0
22Jenson ButtonMcLaren0
23Paul di RestaWilliams-Mercedes0