Mercedes’ second complaint against the result of the Abu Dhabi F1 GP, in which Max Verstappen (Red Bull) was crowned world champion, was dismissed by race stewards on Sunday, 45 minutes after the first, according to documents official.
Even though Mercedes has expressed its “intention to appeal” the rejection of its second complaint, which concerned the way in which the time of the safety car ended. According to the regulatory point invoked by Mercedes, the start of the race would have taken place one lap earlier than it should have.
What they said …
The stewards considered that “although the article (in question) may not have been fully applied”, the following article of the regulations “was imposed” by providing for the message “the safety car is coming back. at the end of this lap “applies immediately when sent by the race director.
Mercedes demanded “that the stewards remedy the situation by modifying the standings to reflect the positions at the end of the penultimate lap,” said the stewards. But “it is a measure which in retrospect would shorten the race and is therefore not appropriate”.
The German team claimed, with the first complaint, that Verstappen passed driver Lewis Hamilton during the safety vehicle period at the end of the GP, which regulations prohibit.
In their decision, the commissioners assessed that “although car 33 (from Verstappen) was traveling at one point for a very short period, slightly ahead of car 44 (from Hamilton), at a time when both vehicles were accelerating and braking , he came back behind car 44 and was not in front at the end of the safety car period. “
Verstappen passed Hamilton on this final lap and took the victory and the world title.
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