Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Formula 1 Zoff continues
Mercedes protests against the Verstappen judgment
Will world championship leader Max Verstappen lose more points to pursuer Lewis Hamilton? The Formula 1 Zoff goes into the next round, Mercedes appeals against a decision of the race management in favor of Verstappen. It is about a “displacement” in Brazil, for which there should be new evidence.
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes team protests against a decision by the race stewards in favor of world championship leader Max Verstappen at the Formula 1 race in Brazil. The racing team subsequently requested a review of the tough duel between Verstappen and Hamilton at the Grand Prix on Sunday, when the Red Bull driver pushed the Silver Arrows star off the track. As a reason for the objection, Mercedes cited the emergence of new evidence that was not available to the race stewards during the championship run. These should be recordings from the onboard camera.
If Verstappen is subsequently punished, he could possibly slip backwards in the race standings and thus lose further points to Hamilton. At the Brazilian Grand Prix, Hamilton almost overtook the Dutchman on the outside on lap 48, but Verstappen left him no space. Both pilots raced over the curb. The stewards made a note of the incident but did not consider an investigation to be necessary.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff had criticized this shortly after crossing the finish line. It was an “absolute mess not to get a penalty for being pushed out,” Wolff scolded the TV broadcaster Sky. To dismiss the maneuver as a racing incident and “wipe under the carpet is actually embarrassing for the race management,” said Wolff.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, however, said: “The two fight hard, there is no contact between the two. I have no problem with that.” A little later, Hamilton had overtaken Verstappen and won the race. Shortly afterwards, the television pictures showed Wolff in the Mercedes garage, who was furious and pointed to the camera. “Put that in the Louvre”, the team later tweeted for the corresponding screenshot. In the overall standings, the Hamilton shortened its gap to the championship leader to 14 points with three races to go.