Wolff: Good to see a penalty, whether too low or too high

Red Bull and the FIA reached an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA) on Friday of the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend, where the energy drinks outfit were served with a $7-Million fine and a 10% reduction of their wind tunnel time for the coming 12 months.

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl was not satisfied with the penalty, but Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is somehow happy in the way the FIA conducted themselves throughout the process.

"I think what is the most important for me is that there is a robust governance," Wolff told Sky Sports F1. "They didn’t budge an eyelid, they just followed the process how it went."

"They were absolutely good in assessing. I know how rigorous they were with us all throughout the year. That was a difficult process. When I’m seeing 13 positions that were wrong, with us it wasn’t the case.

"Overall, it’s good to see that there is a penalty, whether we deem it too low or too high," the Austrian maintained.

Even if Red Bull's penalty seemed lenient, Wolff ruled out any future Mercedes decision to breach the cost cap siting the importance of the team's image.

"I think what you see is that beyond a sporting penalty and financial fine, it’s also reputational damage," he pointed out. "In a world of transparency and good governance, that’s just not on anymore.

"Whatever team you are you are responsible for representing your brand," Wolff insisted.

Moving on to Mercedes' weekend in Mexico, and whether there would be any rewards for the eight-time F1 Constructors' Champions around the Autodromo Hermanoz Rodriguez, Wolff responded: "What rewards? I hope a trophy!

"We shouldn't count our chickens now, it's really difficult to get the cooling levels right," he went on. "In the high downforce spec, we are generally more competitive but it's too early to say.

"When I look at Mexico generally it should suit us, so high downforce works well for us. We were good in Barcelona, even in the early stages of the season when the car really wasn't great. At the moment, it's just trial and error a little bit," the 50-year-old explained.

Mercedes are yet to win a race this season and currently sit third in the Constructors' Standings, 53 points behind Ferrari who are second, after Red Bull secured the Title in last week's United States Grand Prix.

(Additional reporting by Agnes Carlier)