Mercedes could appeal against F1 title win after protests dismissed

TIL Desk Sports/ Mercedes could appeal against Max Verstappen’s Formula One championship victory despite stewards dismissing the team’s post-race protests on Sunday.

Red Bull’s Verstappen overtook Mercedes’s seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton in controversial circumstances on the last lap to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and take his first crown.

Mercedes, who still won the constructors’ crown for a record eighth year in a row, then protested against alleged breaches of the sporting regulations when the safety car was deployed late in the race.

One was “against the classification established at the end of the competition” and the other argued that Verstappen had overtaken Hamilton while the safety car was still deployed.

Both were dismissed but a Mercedes spokesman said the team had lodged an intention to appeal. Verstappen had back markers between him and Hamilton after pitting with the safety car deployed and time running out for racing to resume.