Verstappen Hamilton decision on hold as stewards consider verdict

A decision over the right of review of the Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton São Paulo Grand Prix incident has been placed on hold overnight.

The stewards met with representatives from both Mercedes and Red Bull to discuss Verstappen's defensive manoeuvre against Hamilton on lap 48 of the 71-lap race at Interlagos.

The stewards, however, have decided to consider their decision, with a report to be published on Friday.

The announcement comes after Mercedes opted for its right to review what unfolded between seven-time F1 champion Hamilton and Verstappen.

Challenging for the lead, Hamilton attempted an overtake on the outside of turn four at Interlagos, only for both drivers to run wide.

The FIA race stewards opted not to open an investigation during the race, with race director Michael Masi surprisingly later revealing not all footage was available at the time.

Once footage from Verstappen's front-facing onboard camera emerged, particularly highlighting the Dutch driver's steering wheel movements, Mercedes launched its right to review.

Its belief was the camera angle satisfied the criteria required as "a significant and relevant new element" that was "unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned".

If the stewards uphold Mercedes' right, the team would then launch a formal appeal against Verstappen, who finished 10.5secs adrift of Hamilton.

Should the appeal be successful, a likely time penalty would be levied against the Dutch driver which would see him fall behind third-placed Valtteri Bottas.

In turn, that would change the picture of both the constructors' and drivers' standings.

At present, Verstappen leads Hamilton by 14 points but if he dropped behind Bottas in Sunday's race classification, the gap would be 11.

Similarly, in the constructors' standings, Mercedes would increase its lead over Red Bull from 11 to 14 points.

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