One of the protests is against Max Verstappen
Mercedes have launched two protests after Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Drivers’ Championship in controversial fashion, as per Sky Sports.
Towards the end of the race, Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers which saw a yellow flag and the Safety Car come out.
Initially, race controls reported that lapped cars would not be allowed to overtake, however, they then changed their decision and told the three cars to overtake the safety car.
With Verstappen having opted to immediately pit for fresh tyres, and Lewis Hamilton choosing not to pit previously, the pair ended up side by side with just one lap remaining.
After changing his tyres, and with Hamilton running on old ones, the Dutchman took the lead and went on to win the race and secure the Drivers’ Championship.
However, as some expected, Mercedes have launched two protests.
One of the protests is against Max Verstappen for ‘breach of Article 48.8 of the 2021 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
The other is against the classification, for ‘alleged breach of Article 48.12 of the 2021 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
BREAKING: Mercedes have protested "against the classification established at the end of the Competition", relating to alleged breaches of Articles 48.8 and 48.12 of the FIA Sporting Regulations#AbuDhabiGP 🇦🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/bO6BLN8lv5
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 12, 2021
Confirmation of the protests was confirmed shortly after the conclusion of the race:
Protest by Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team against Car 33, alleged breach of Article 48.8 of the 2021 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations
Protest by Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team against the classification established at the end of the Competition, alleged breach of Article 48.12 of the 2021 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.
More to follow…
