The first protest concerned Verstappen’s drive for a safety car, as Mercedes thought that the Dutchman had not followed all the rules just before the restart. That is, he overtook his opponent before he was allowed.
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The second protest then aimed at the restart itself. This was very controversial, as race director Michael Masi let the five drivers back one lap overtake the safety car, giving Verstappen just behind Hamilton on fresh tires. But Masi did not wait for the pilots to reach the starting field and restart the race before the last lap.
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Verstappen used fresh tires, overtook Hamilton and became the champion.
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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff immediately complained via radio, shouting that it was not fair. Masi just replied succinctly, “This is racing.”
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Verstappen himself reacted briefly to the Mercedes protest, “I think it sums up a bit this season.” Red Bull team boss Christan Horner added that he is “disappointed with the protest, but he believes the FIA.”
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Representatives of the Red Bull team left the commissioners before seven o’clock in the evening, and the head of the communications department said: “We are here to race. Mercedes came here with their team of lawyers to disrupt everything. “
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In the end, the “silver arrows” failed. However, they had already announced that they would still appeal against the decision and that the whole process would probably go to the FIA International Court of Appeal.
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Right after the race, George Russell, a Williams rider and next season’s Lewis Hamilton teammate, wrote on Twitter: “Max is an absolutely fantastic rider who has an incredible season and I have a lot of respect for him, but what just happened , is absolutely unacceptable. I can’t believe what we saw. “
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But, as the commissioners confirmed, it was fair.
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