Mercedes argued that Masi should have allowed all the lapped cars to unlap themselves rather than just the five in between the two title contenders. Verstappen managed to pass him within a few corners.
F1 2012 ABU DHABI HIGHLIGHTS DRIVER
The Dutch driver even nudged ahead of his rival a couple of times, which is not allowed and which Mercedes later protested.īut when Hamilton did eventually accelerate across the start line to get the race going again, he was a sitting duck, on tyres which were by then 44 laps old. Hamilton slowed down massively leading up to the start of that final lap, attempting to catch Verstappen out. Then they were told that they could.Īnd so it was that when the safety car finally withdrew with one lap remaining, Verstappen found himself right behind Hamilton’s rear end and with a fresh set of soft tyres.
Initially Red Bull and Mercedes were told the unlapped cars would not be allowed to unlap themselves, with Verstappen sarcastically remarking “Of course, typical” when he was informed. But Masi’s statements to the teams, which were broadcast to millions watching open-mouthed around the world, did rather give the impression that he was making it up as he went along. It was going to be a hugely controversial call either way. And there followed frantic discussions with the FIA’s race director Michael Masi about whether the lapped cars would be allowed to unlap themselves if the debris from the crash was removed in time for the safety car to withdraw. Verstappen still had five lapped cars between himself and his prey.
However, the deployment of a safety car following an innocuous crash by Williams’ Canadian driver Nicholas Latifi allowed Verstappen to dive into the pits and change his tyres and then catch back up to his rival. Hamilton had looked to be cruising to a record eighth world title with five laps to go. But his team were incensed after Verstappen claimed victory thanks to one of the most controversial final laps to a season the sport has ever witnessed. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stormed out of the paddock on Sunday without saying anything. "I think the race director made his position clear, the stewards made their position clear, and the ruling is very clear." Red Bull team principal Christian Horner indicated that he would fight them to the bitter end. “We'll fight them in the appeal court and in the legal court after that if they go that route," he said after learning of Mercedes' intention to appeal. If the appeal also goes against Mercedes, there is the option to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In effect they will have to do it a lot sooner than that given the FIA’s Prize Giving ceremony is in Paris on Thursday and they must have the result by then. Mercedes informed the FIA late on Sunday of their intention to appeal one of those rulings and have 96hrs now in which to lodge it. But only after Mercedes had had two separate protests thrown out by the stewards. Verstappen, 24, was finally confirmed as the Netherlands’ first ever F1 champion late on Sunday night, five hours after the race had ended. How Max Verstappen grabbed world title from Lewis Hamilton - reaction, protests and regulationsįormula 1 could be set for a messy and protracted legal battle after Mercedes vowed on Sunday night to appeal the result of a chaotic season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and have Lewis Hamilton installed as F1 world champion instead of Red Bull’s race winner Max Verstappen.
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