'Verstappen would still be world champion after Mercedes' protest'

30 January 2022 at 13:01

Last update 30 January 2022 at 17:22

GPblog.com

After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Mercedes protested and even wanted to appeal, but in the end an investigation by the FIA was sufficient. According to Peter Bayer, the new head of single-seaters at the FIA, Max Verstappen would have remained World Champion anyway.

Lewis Hamilton hoped to win his eighth title last season, but Verstappen managed to cross the finish line as winner and World Champion. Meanwhile, Hamilton is still driven to win his eighth title, as it would put him at the top of the list of the most word titles.

The decisions made by the race committee at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix partly helped Verstappen. Because of that, Mercedes protested immediately after the race, but the stewards rejected it. They then wanted to appeal, but after three days decided not to. They did make an appointment with the FIA, because they wanted an investigation to be started.

Result would have remained the same

If Mercedes had gone ahead with their appeal, the outcome would probably have remained the same. "But even then - if it were canceled - Max Verstappen would have been world champion (because he was ahead going into the race)," he told the BBC.

The FIA is now busy with the investigation and will not present the results until March. For now, Bayer mainly wants to look to the future and see how they can improve things. "The situation was far from perfect and that's why we're working on it. It's also about having respect for the race director."