The first protest by Mercedes, that relating to article 48.8 of the sporting regulations, was rejected by the commissioners, so for the moment the final classification of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Formula 1 World Championship remains intact, with Max Verstappen world champion .
According to Mercedes, the Dutchman’s Red Bull had overtaken Lewis Hamilton’s car in the stages preceding the restart after the Safety Car period triggered by the accident of Nicholas Latifi’s Williams, thus violating Article 48.8.
In the discussion with the commissioners, Red Bull pointed out that both drivers were actually playing with gas, which there were “millions of precedents” for, and that Verstappen then regularly re-queued when the race resumed the start. .
After considering the statements made by both sides, the commissioners nevertheless determined that although the # 33 car moved slightly ahead of the # 44 car for a very short time, at a time when both were accelerating and braking, it was re-queued and was not in front when the Safety Car period ended (at the Safety Car line).
As a result, they dismissed the protest filed by Brackley’s team, although in some ways it was already pretty clear that this was not the real front of the battle.
In the end, therefore, it will be above all the bad management of the restart by the race director Michael Masi, relating to the cars that had to be split, which could lead to a violation of article 48.12, for which the commissioners have yet to pronounce themselves.
In this case, Mercedes disputes the way in which the restart was given (theoretically with one lap earlier than the regulation when the single-seaters are allowed to split), given that the last lap was decisive for the assignment of the title, with Verstappen who had taken advantage of the neutralization to mount the soft tires thanks to which he was able to attack and overtake Hamilton a few kilometers from the checkered flag.
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