Simpson is spotting Engels about 30 IQ points here, and not because he's stupid. That might be considered in all of this.
Engels actually had the easier task here, because Simpson was the one who spoke first. That he would defend himself in almost exactly the way he did was predictable, and he had time to consider his response.
Simpson is the one who went out on a limb, because she knew that she'd get the equivalent of a lot of downvotes despite knowing she was in the right, and knowing also that others who knew she was right would continue to remain silent or even publicly side with the NOP loyalists.
As an aside, it's either impressive or sad or both that these two can carry this on coherently while also kicking butt on the track. In their own very different ways they can probably both channel the hijinks into better performances or at least not implode on account of the drama. No one will ever doubt the preparedness to race of either one of them, all of the other crap notwithstanding.