Mercedes protest Abu Dhabi result that crowned Max Verstappen as world champion
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team will protest the result of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that crowned Max Verstappen 2021 World Champion.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen after the 2021 Formula 1 finale in Abu Dhabi. (Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)
Two protests are underway.
The first controversy surrounds the final restart, which saw the lapped drivers between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen allowed to pass the safety car.
The race then restarted on the same lap.
Verstappen was able to pit for fresh soft tyres behind the safety car, gaining the advantage for the one-lap shoot-out against Hamilton.
The pair went wheel-to-wheel before Verstappen got past for the race win and championship victory.
The complaint is that the restart process does not follow the sporting regulations.
Max Verstappen is also under investigation for overtaking Lewis Hamilton before the green flag fell at the restart.
Both teams have been summoned to the stewards, with a meeting at 7.45pm local time for Verstappen’s infringement and a meeting at 8.15pm local time for the restart procedure.
More to come…
