Abu Dhabi: Mercedes on Sunday protested after Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and clinched the 2021 Formula 1 world title after a late lunge on rival Lewis Hamilton.
The team, who secured the constructors' crown for a record eighth year in a row, protested the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix final classification, citing a breach of two articles in the Sporting Regulations.
Hamilton had looked the most likely to take that all-deciding win, enjoying a comfortable lead over Verstappen having commanded the race, when Nicholas Latifi crashed with six laps to go, triggering a Safety Car. Red Bull called Verstappen into the pits and fitted him with soft tyres. Hamilton did not pit and remained on 38-lap-old hard tyres. The race resumed with one lap to go, with Verstappen holding a significant tyre advantage. He caught and passed the Mercedes driver to take victory.
Within 30 minutes of the race ending, Mercedes launched two protests. One was "against the classification established at the end of the Competition, alleged breach of Article 48.12 of the 2021 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations."