Does Red Bull Racing's protest against Lewis Hamilton actually make sense?

New evidence?

Red Bull Racing filed the request for review on July 23 and was told on July 27 that it could come forward. The fact that the team, based in Milton Keynes, decided to press ahead with the protest may indicate that they have found new evidence which could justify a higher penalty for Lewis Hamilton. In fact, an appeal is usually dismissed if a team does not have any new evidence.

What the new evidence will consist of is still a matter of conjecture. It is to be expected that Max Verstappen will be present at the appeal, as he was not heard after the crash. Red Bull Racing also stated last week that it has new data that could prove that Hamilton deserves a higher penalty than the 10 seconds he was given initially at Silverstone.

Past performance

In the past, however, such protests have rarely, if ever, led to a revision of the penalty given. For example, there are the well-known incidents with Sebastian Vettel. In Canada 2019, the race where the Heppenheimer changed the finish signs of the first and second place in his favour, Ferrari appealed but got zero response. In Mexico 2016, he clashed on track with Verstappen, who finished third, but later lost his podium spot to Vettel. However, because the German had made multiple moves under braking towards Daniel Ricciardo, he had to relinquish that podium spot. Ferrari appealed and lost.

Serious evidence or bullying Mercedes?

Whether Red Bull Racing are serious about beating Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in injury time, or simply trying to annoy their rival as much as possible in the battle for the championship remains to be seen. Max Verstappen won't care though. He will undoubtedly prefer to win the race in Hungary.