Following a similar disputed use of the safety car in an International GT Open event at Spielberg in September, the FIA’s International Court of Appeal declared that it would be wrong to nullify the final result because of a mistake by the race director.
The case demonstrates the sort of thinking that the ICA would have pursued, had Mercedes appealed after the Abu Dhabi race.
In the 2021 season finale, race director Michael Masi didn’t follow the established protocols after a safety car period when he resumed the race with one lap to go.
Having pitted for fresh tyres, Max Verstappen was able to overtake Lewis Hamilton over the course of the final lap and win the world championship.
After the race, Mercedes lodged two protests. The first claimed that Verstappen had overtaken Hamilton under the safety car, and the second that Masi had not complied with the regulations as not all the unlapped cars had been allowed to unlap themselves. After lengthy deliberations, both protests were dismissed.
Mercedes then lodged a notice of intention to appeal, giving the team 96 hours to make a final call on whether or not to proceed – a period that pushed right up to the FIA gala prize-giving, where Verstappen was due to be awarded the world championship trophy.
During that time the FIA confirmed that it would set up a commission to fully review the events of the race, and with the prize giving looming Mercedes eventually decided not to proceed with its appeal.
Source: Autosport