Mercedes lodged two complaints against Max Verstappen’s victory in Abu Dhabi that allowed him to win the championship.
After the end of the race, Mercedes protested against two incidents of the race. Max Verstappen allegedly overtook Lewis Hamilton under the safety car, and the second one was on FIA, allowing the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to remove the lap difference.
The FIA has already cleared Verstappen of the safety car to overtake the charge. That means no penalty on the Dutchman will be made that could have made Hamilton promoted in the final race standings.
|@Max33Verstappen has been cleared of overtaking @LewisHamilton under the Safety Car.
More to follow. #F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/DJOgzrbW6Z
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet) December 12, 2021
And stripped the former from his first F1 title. But an update by the reputed journalist Ted Kravitz revealed that Mercedes was not even pinning its hope on the safety car approach.
Though, they aim to overturn the result of the day. However, it wouldn’t be able to end till the FIA as the decision was taken under the discretion of Michael Masi instead of the rule book.
According to Ted Kravitz, Mercedes aren’t confident they will win the overtaking under safety car. However, they are looking to overturn the result.
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) December 12, 2021
But according to the latest update, even the second complaint by Mercedes have been rejected. So, Mercedes might go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to achieve anything out of it.
BREAKING: The FIA Stewards have dismissed Mercedes’ protests against the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix final classification #AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/VPNIfaFDMC
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 12, 2021
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton unfairly denied the championship
The decision by Masi instantly irked a significant section of F1 fans, including George Russell. Hamilton’s teammate for 2022 has called the end of the championship unacceptable.
Meanwhile, former F1 champion Damon Hill has called out FIA for their inconsistent decisions. The conflict seems to rise only further from hereon.
Also read: Max Verstappen thanks teammate Sergio Perez for helping him win the World Championship