Mercedes had filed a pair of protests following Sunday’s
race, in which a late crash at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix helped Max Verstappen
beat Hamilton for the title. Both protests were dismissed and Mercedes then
asked for reconsideration at the International Court of Appeal, a process that
could have dragged into next year.
“We left Abu Dhabi in disbelief of what we had just
witnessed,” Mercedes said in a statement. “Of course, it’s part of the game to
lose a race, but it’s something different when you lose faith in racing.”
Mercedes was protesting the use of the safety car following
a crash with five laps remaining. Hamilton had a nearly 12-second lead with
Verstappen in second when the crash brought out the yellow flag.
Verstappen pitted for fresh tires while Hamilton stayed on
track. The race director initially said lapped drivers could not pass the
safety car, then reversed the call in a decision that returned Verstappen to
second when the race resumed with a lap remaining.
Verstappen then passed Hamilton to win his first world
championship; Hamilton was denied a record eighth title, one more than Michael
Schumacher.
Mercedes said Thursday, ahead of the season-ending gala in
Paris later in the evening, that it decided with Hamilton not to move forward
with the appeal.
Its protest was over safety car rules that “were applied in
a new way that affected the race result, after Lewis had been in a commanding
lead and on course to win (the championship)” and Mercedes said its appeal was
“in the interest of sporting fairness.”
Mercedes said it was satisfied after discussions with both
the FIA and Formula One over clarity on the rules “so that all competitors know
the rules under which they are racing, and how they will be enforced.”
The FIA late Wednesday said it will conduct an analysis of
the ending and acknowledged the controversy is “tarnishing the image of the
championship.” The FIA delivered a report on the incident to the World Motor
Sport Council in Paris and said a further review will help understand why the
race ended as it did.
“We welcome the decision by the FIA to install a commission
to thoroughly analyze what happened in Abu Dhabi and to improve the robustness
of rules, governance and decision making in Formula 1. We also welcome that
they have invited the teams and drivers to take part,” Mercedes said.
Mercedes also congratulated Verstappen and Red Bull, and
called the 24-year-old Dutchman a “flawless sportsman on and off the track” who
“delivered a faultless performance.”
“We would like to express our sincere respect for your
achievements this season,” Mercedes said. “You made this Formula 1 championship
title fight truly epic. Max, we congratulate you and your entire team. We look
forward to taking the fight to you on the track next season.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner on Wednesday had
called for the controversy to end. He also said a number of variables out of
Red Bull’s control came into play that decided the race, beginning with
Nicholas Latifi’s crash with five laps remaining.
“We didn’t ask Nicholas Latifi to crash, that happens,”
Horner said. “And we found it surprising that Mercedes strategically, you know,
they left Lewis out on a set of tires that had to have been close to 40 laps on
them. So of course, if the race were to restart, he was going to be vulnerable.
“Strategically, that was a mistake. I think we made the
right strategy call, and as the following car on a track that isn’t easy to
overtake, Max still had to make that pass. And he did it,” Horner said. “A
safety car caused by Williams gave us an opportunity to throw something strategically
at those last five laps and it paid off.” -AP
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