16/11/2021
NEWS STORY
Following the release of onboard footage form Max Verstappen's car of the incident with Lewis Hamilton at Turn 4 on Sunday, Mercedes has called for the 'right of review' of the incident.
The controversial incident happened on Lap 48 when Lewis Hamilton made his initial bid for the lead.
Heading down the back straight towards the left-hander Hamilton drew alongside and then ahead of the Red Bull, but as they braked for the corner the pair ran wide.
The stewards noted the incident but then decided it was a 'racing incident' and not worthy of investigation, much to the frustration of the German team.
However, race director, Michael Masi, while defending the call, subsequently admitted that onboard footage from Verstappen's car had not been available at the time of the decision.
With the stewards unable to see the Dutch driver's hand movements on his steering wheel it was argued that the decision not to investigate was therefore made prematurely without all the available evidence, indeed the most crucial evidence.
Today the onboard footage was made available and Mercedes immediately called for the right to review.
"The Mercedes AMG F1 Team confirms that we have today requested a Right of Review under Article 14.1.1 of the International Sporting Code in relation to the Turn 4 incident involving Car 44 and Car 33 on Lap 48 of the Brazilian Grand Prix, on the basis of new evidence unavailable to the Stewards at the time of their decision," said the championship leaders in a brief statement.
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The move comes at a time Red Bull is openly pouring suspicion on the "mind-boggling" speed of the Mercedes.
Article 14.1.1 states that: "If, in Competitions forming part of an FIA Championship, cup, trophy, challenge or series, or of an international series, a significant and relevant new element is discovered which was unavailable to the parties seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned.
“The stewards who have given a ruling or, failing this, those designated by the FIA, may decide to re-examine their decision following a petition for review by:- either one of the parties concerned and/or a party that is directly affected by the decision handed down, or - the Secretary General for Sport of the FIA.
“The stewards must meet (in person or by other means) on a date agreed amongst themselves, summoning the party or parties concerned to hear any relevant explanations and to judge in the light of the facts and elements brought before them.”
With Verstappen finishing just 3.08s ahead of Valtteri Bottas - but 29.444s ahead of fourth-placed Sergio Perez - a 5 or 10s time penalty would drop the Dutchman to third and reduce his lead over Hamilton by a further 3 points to 11.
On the other hand, if the stewards deem that Verstappen did indeed breach the rules, he could be handed a grid penalty at one of the remaining races.