This morning Mercedes announced that they would not be proceeding with their appeal against the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race classification.
The 2021 Constructors’ Champions had lodged two protests about the events of the final few laps of the season finale, the first issue Mercedes brought up was alleging that Max Verstappen had passed race leader Lewis Hamilton while the two were gearing up for the Safety Car to leave the track and the race to resume.
The stewards decided that while Verstappen had briefly and barely moved ahead at points, he was behind at the Safety Car line when the race restarted, so that issue was dismissed.
The second objection however was the main focus, Mercedes protested the race results on account of the Safety Car procedure for car unlapping themselves not being followed as it was written.
The German manufacturer pointing out that only the lapped cars in in between Hamilton and Verstappen were allowed to unlap and that once the last of the unlapping cars passes the Safety Car, the Safety Car is supposed to wait until the end of the next lap to return to the pitlane rather than the same lap which is what happened in Abu Dhabi.
That protest was also dismissed by the stewards on Sunday evening citing the facts that the Race Director has discretion over the Safety Car’s time on track, the “Safety Car in this lap” message supersedes any other Safety Car process, and that the teams had all agreed previously that finishing a race under green flag conditions, where safe to do so, was the preferred course of events for Grands Prix.
After the two decisions were revealed, Mercedes announced that they had lodged their intention to appeal the result of the second protest. That meant that they had 96 hours to make a final call on whether they would continue to contest the race classification and bring the matter to the International Court of Appeal.
In today’s statement the team said that their appeal was made in the interest of sporting fairness and that they way the regulations were applied was not right as they affected the race results and thus the championship result.
“We have always been guided by our love of this sport,” Mercedes statement read. “And we believe that every competition should be won on merit. In the race on Sunday many felt, us included, that the way things unfolded was not right.
“The reason we protested the race result on Sunday was because the Safety Car regulations 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 World Championship.
“We appealed in the interest of sporting fairness, and we have since been in a constructive dialogue with the FIA and Formula 1 to create clarity for the future, so that all competitors know the rules under which they are racing, and how they will be enforced.”
That constructive dialogue lead to yesterday’s announcement by the FIA that they would be “a detailed analysis and clarification exercise” to investigate the events of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in order to “draw any lessons from this situation and clarity to be provided to the participants, media, and fans about the current regulations to preserve the competitive nature of our sport while ensuring the safety of the drivers and officials.”
It is a move welcomed by Mercedes, who say they will work closely with the FIA on this matter. As a result they, along with Hamilton, have decided to withdraw the appeal.
“We welcome the decision by the FIA to install a commission to thoroughly analyse 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.
“The Mercedes-AMG Petronas team will actively work with this commission to build a better Formula 1 – for every team and every fan who loves this sport as much as we do. We will hold the FIA accountable for this process and we hereby withdraw our appeal.”
The statement went on to congratulate Verstappen and Red Bull for a hard fought championship battle, and thanked all of their own team members for their parts in delivering an eighth straight Constructors’ Championship.
The full statement from Mercedes read as follows:
“Dear Formula 1 community and fans,
“We left Abu Dhabi in disbelief of what we had just witnessed. Of course, it’s part of the game to lose a race, but it’s something different when you lose faith in racing.
“Together with Lewis, we have deliberated carefully over how to respond to the events at the Formula 1 season finale. We have always been guided by our love of this sport and we believe that every competition should be won on merit. In the race on Sunday many felt, us included, that the way things unfolded was not right.
“The reason we protested the race result on Sunday was because the Safety Car regulations 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 World Championship.
“We appealed in the interest of sporting fairness, and we have since been in a constructive dialogue with the FIA and Formula 1 to create clarity for the future, so that all competitors know the rules under which they are racing, and how they will be enforced. Thus, we welcome the decision by the FIA to install a commission to thoroughly analyse 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.
“The Mercedes-AMG Petronas team will actively work with this commission to build a better Formula 1 – for every team and every fan who loves this sport as much as we do. We will hold the FIA accountable for this process and we hereby withdraw our appeal.
“To Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing: we would like to express our sincere respect for your achievements this season. 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.
“And lastly, even though this Drivers’ Championship did not end the way we hoped, we could not be prouder of our team.
“Lewis, you are the greatest racer in the history of Formula 1 and you drove your heart out for every lap of this incredible season. You’re a flawless sportsman on and off the track and you delivered a faultless performance. As a pure competitor and as a role model for millions around the world, we salute you.
“Valtteri, you have been such an important part of this team, delivering five Constructors’ Championships in five seasons. Thank you for your remarkable contribution to our motorsport history. Kiitos, Valtteri.
“Finally, to every one of the skilled and passionate women and men of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team in Brackley and High Performance Powertrains in Brixworth: you’ve written an historic chapter in the Silver Arrow story by winning the eighth Constructors’ Championship – in a row. This is an unprecedented achievement. In simple words: it’s awesome. You are awesome.”