Mercedes' Red Bull protest thrown out by Abu Dhabi Grand Prix stewards

Mercedes' protest against the controversial end to the 2021 F1 season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been thrown out by the FIA race stewards.

The Silver Arrows lodged two protests, with the first aimed at a breach of Article 48.8 of the FIA's F1 sporting regulations by Max Verstappen for overtaking Lewis Hamilton under safety car conditions already dismissed.

But the protest against a breach of Article 48.12, which suggested the safety car period should have been extended by a lap - and therefore the end of the race - after cars were given the opportunity to unlap themselves on the penultimate lap, has also been thrown out.

This means Max Verstappen has been confirmed as F1 world champion.

The regulation in question indicates the safety car should remain on track for a lap following the unlapping of cars in a neutralised race.

Verstappen eventually won the championship having overtaken Hamilton during the final racing lap whilst Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff could be heard questioning race director Michael Masi's decision making.

Mercedes involved a QC in the proceedings with Red Bull indicating the team was "disappointed" with the protest.

A report from the hearing noted Red Bull's defence, stating: "Red Bull argued that 1. “Any” does not mean “all”.

"2. The Article 48.13 of the Sporting Regulations states that the message “Safety Car in this lap” is the signal that it will enter the pit lane at the end of that lap.

"3. That therefore Article 48.13 “overrides” Article 48.12.

"4. That Article 15.3 gives the Race Director “overriding authority” over “the use of the safety car”.

"5. That even if all cars that had been lapped (8 in total, of which 5 were allowed to overtake the safety car) it would not have changed the outcome of the race."

The stewards' decision within the report read: "The stewards consider that the protest is admissible.

"Having considered the various statements made by the parties the Stewards determine the following: "That Article 15.3 allows the Race Director to control the use of the safety car, which in our determination includes its deployment and withdrawal.

"That although Article 48.12 may not have been applied fully, in relation to the safety car returning to the pits at the end of the following lap, Article 48.13 overrides that and once the message “Safety Car in this lap” has been displayed, it is mandatory to withdraw the safety car at the end of that lap.

"That notwithstanding Mercedes’ request that the stewards remediate the matter by amending the classification to reflect the positions at the end of the penultimate lap, this is a step that the stewards believe is effectively shortening the race retrospectively, and hence not appropriate."

Mercedes is discussing whether to launch any other actions given the findings of the hearing.

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