His protest was aimed at the safety car rules, which were “applied in a new way that affected the outcome of the race after Lewis was leading and was on the verge of winning (the championship)”, and Mercedes said his appointment was “in the interest of sporting fairness”. If Mercedes chooses to appeal, Mercedes will have 15 days to file its case, after which the stewards will have 15 days to file their case. We made an appeal in the interest of sporting fairness and have since engaged in a constructive dialogue with the FIA and Formula 1 to clarify the future, so that all participants know what rules they respect and how they are applied. pic.twitter.com/SCdNuFPwIb “Race director Michael Masi and the interpretation of the 2021 FIA sporting regulations by race stewards have been questioned by riders, experts and legal commentators,” he told RaceFans. Don`t get me wrong, I hope they change the outcome, I just don`t think they will. But I hope that if they appeal and the case goes to court, the result is that the rules are less open to interpretation. Horner said he “wouldn`t be surprised” if Mercedes appealed. But I think the race director has clearly expressed his position, the race stewards have clearly expressed their position and the verdict is very clear. The filing of a letter of intent to appeal gave the team 96 hours to review its options. The deadline was Thursday evening, coinciding with the FIA awards ceremony, where Verstappen was due to receive his trophy. Although Mercedes has said for now that it will appeal the decision, nothing more has been heard on the matter. This is not a slam dunk victory, far from it.
Attractiveness is the result of the race. The appeal is not: “We want to prove that the FIA made a mistake.” There is no way to change the result of the race without cancelling the entire race, which means Max remains champion. “We think we had a very strong case, and if you look at it from a legal perspective, if it had been tried by an ordinary court, it was almost guaranteed that we would have won,” Wolff said when asked how close Mercedes was to filing another appeal. The team had launched two protests against the final stages of the race by race director Michael Masi, who were expelled by the stewards before they submitted their intention to appeal the decision. Mercedes insists Lewis Hamilton has been “stripped” of the F1 title and believes a legal challenge to the race result would have been successful Mercedes has strong legal grounds to challenge the outcome of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix, according to a London-based lawyer. And we`ve hesitated these days between `We`re going to make this call` and `We`re going to step down despite all the anger and try to improve the sport and use this moment to make decision-making more robust.` The final decision to withdraw the appeal was made Wednesday evening. “If they appeal, they appeal,” he said. “We will fight him in the Court of Appeal and then in court.” I am sure they have a good basis for appealing, but I would like them to give up now.
I thought it was a complete joke, but if Lewis gets straight out of the car, congratulates Max and shakes hands with Horner, I`m sure the rest of us can move on. I think the people who point that out, “but Hamilton has also benefited from inconsistencies throughout the season” are wrong. It is not a question of compensating for the wrong to repair it. The FIA`s duty is to follow the rules it writes and to make sure others follow them. They haven`t done so often this year, burying more and more the lines that limit the good thing. It is currently impossible to know if things are legal or not during a race. This could be seen as a violation of the International Sporting Code, Babber said. Article 1.1.1 of the 2021 FIA International Sporting Code specifies that the regulations must be applied `on the basis of the fundamental principles of safety and sporting fairness` [emphasis added]. Part of sporting fairness revolves around the consistent application of the rules of sport.
Therefore, there seems to be a good legal basis for Mercedes to appeal. And we firmly believe that justice is being done in Formula 1, the premier category of motorsport, one of the most important sports in the world. So my soul and heart weep with every bone that this should have been judged correctly, and the legal situation would have proved us right. But there is a difference between being right and getting justice. Mercedes has a “good legal basis” to appeal the result of the Formula 1 title race, in which Max Verstappen stole victory on the final lap. Just my 2 cents/cents (once) as a “legal expert”, F1 fan and fierce opponent of the current rules of SC and Red Flag. The only way to do that, in my opinion, is to appeal. Otherwise, the FIA will simply sweep everything under the carpet. While an appeal is unlikely to change the outcome, the trial would most likely show that Masi blatantly flouted the rules. “After the race, I called Jean Todt and Peter Bayer and told them I didn`t agree with that decision,” Wolff said on Thursday. “Of course, I knew it was a purely personal emotion because we had to clarify the calls and whether we could protest or against what. And we did it immediately in my office. Presumably, the Appellate Body (whoever it may be) could theoretically overturn the Commissioners` decision to reject Mercedes` protest – as this document is under appeal – and refer the case back to the Commissioners to decide how to proceed based on the tribunal`s interpretation of the rules.
In practice, however, I think the likelihood of this happening is low. There are ways to “fix” this problem if the appeal is upheld (or actually made), some of which do not change the crowned champion, others do. I firmly believe that this should not be a factor in this decision (just as the fight for the championship should not have been a factor in Masis` decisions on Sunday). Mercedes also did not appeal, they filed an intention to appeal, which they had to do to keep their options open. If I had to bet, they would probably settle this with the FIA and Liberty in some way and not appeal. In summary, the CAS or any national court (nor the EU, which does not have jurisdiction in the matter) have no jurisdiction to hear the appeal envisaged by Mercedes. Only the FIA International Court of Appeal can decide. But none of us, neither he nor us, want to win a world championship in the courtroom. But on the other hand, we were deeply aggrieved on Sunday.
And it wasn`t just a case of bad calling, it was a rule-free style, and it left Lewis like a duck sitting. It was extremely difficult for him and for us as a team to withdraw the appeal because we were wronged.