Red Bull "disappointed" by Mercedes protest but "trust" FIA

Red Bull is "disappointed" by the protest lodged by Mercedes after a controversial end to the 2021 F1 world championship but "trust" the FIA in the process.

Mercedes has protested the race classification of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after Max Verstappen made a title-winning overtake on Lewis Hamilton on the final lap after a safety car restart which caused controversy.

The Silver Arrows have protested against an alleged breach of Articles 48.8 and 48.12 of the FIA F1 sporting regulations.

The first relates to an incident where Mercedes believe Verstappen passed Hamilton before the green flags were shown and the race restarted whilst the second is related to the restart procedure as a whole.

With regard to the second, Mercedes has taken a barrister to see the stewards' with the regulations stating the race will restart a lap after the lapped traffic has been allowed through.

The confusion began after race control instructed lapped cars to remain in line before reversing that call to allow backmarkers through to un-lap themselves.

However, only five went past - the same five that were between Hamilton and Verstappen - which seemingly contravenes the regulation.

According to the regulations, a further lap under safety car should have been completed, which would have finished the race behind the safety car.

Red Bull's response to the protest read: "We are disappointed there has been a protest, but we trust in the FIA."

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