Mercedes and its drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were cleared Friday to continue their charge for the Formula One championship after the team escaped with a reprimand for violating rules on testing.
By opting for a wrist-slap for Mercedes and Pirelli, motorsport's governing body avoided the prospect of antagonizing two big players in F1: The German automaker that also supplies engines to other teams and the series' sole supplier of tyres.
The ruling from the disciplinary tribunal of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) brought a low-key end to what has been a tumultuous and typically F1 drama.
The furor over Mercedes' private tyre tests for Pirelli in May highlighted both the complexity of F1's rules and internal politics and how the teams are constantly peering over each other's shoulders to get an advantage or prevent others from doing so.
The tribunal ruling on Friday lifted the worry that Mercedes could be heavily fined, barred from races or docked points for providing Pirelli with its 2013 car for the tyre tests in Barcelona. The German team also provided Pirelli with its drivers Rosberg and Hamilton, who wore anonymous black helmets to avoid attracting attention.
The tribunal ruled Mercedes breached F1's rules that bar the use of current cars for in-season track tests.
Mercedes and Pirelli were reprimanded, the lowest possible penalty on a sliding scale of severity. The panel also barred the German team from joining other F1 competitors at a planned three-day test session for young drivers in July.
That was a punishment which Mercedes' lawyer had suggested to the FIA's international tribunal at its all-day hearing in Paris on Thursday.
Mercedes said it will not appeal and that it "accepts the proportionate penalties of a reprimand and suspension from the forthcoming Young Driver Test."
"Mercedes looks forward to working with the FIA and its fellow competitors to establish a more rigorous procedure for testing in the future, particularly to support the appointed tyre supplier," it said in a statement.
"We now wish to bring this matter to a close and focus on the forthcoming British and German Grands Prix, both of which are important home races for the team."
In theory, barring Mercedes from the young drivers' training would cancel out any performance advantage the team may have gained from participating in the Barcelona tests, because it will not be allowed to run its car while the other teams do. The tribunal suggested in its ruling that it hopes this will level the playing field, saying it aimed "insofar as it is reasonably practicable" to put the other teams "in a similar position to that which Mercedes is."
However, there will likely be debate about whether stopping Mercedes from the testing with its young drivers represents much of a blow. The Barcelona tests provided Mercedes and its drivers with track time just one week before the Monaco GP that Rosberg then won.