The first concerns Verstappen’s safety car ride, as Mercedes says the Dutchman didn’t follow 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 aims 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, “It’s racing.”
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Verstappen himself responded briefly but aptly to Mercedes’ protest: “I think it sums up this season a bit.”
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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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Horner said again that a verdict was expected during the night and that the losing party would certainly appeal against him anyway.
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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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