Mercedes given three reasons to ‘back off’ Lewis Hamilton appeal as court success doubted

Mercedes have been urged to “back off” following their appeal of the events at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix because they “don’t want to look like bad losers” and face an improbable task of getting the decisions overturned. The Silver Arrows watched the world championship slip through their fingers in the very last minutes of the season finale in the United Arab Emirates in controversial fashion.

Lewis Hamilton was on course to capture his fifth straight F1 title and his eighth career drivers’ championship before disaster struck.

During lap 55, Nicholas Latifi crashed, meaning a safety car had to be deployed.

After consultation, the FIA decided to allow the five cars in between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves, giving the Red Bull driver a chance to close the gap on his title rival before a one-lap shootout.

Verstappen profited from the decision, using his fresher tyres to overtake Hamilton to snatch the title away.

Mercedes went on to launch two protests with the stewards, both of which were rejected by the FIA.

The Silver Arrows then confirmed they were going to appeal the decision, stating: “We have lodged notice of intention to appeal the decision of the Stewards under Article 15 of the Sporting Code and Article 10 of the Judicial and Disciplinary Rules.”

Thursday is the deadline for any final paperwork Mercedes wish to present as part of their appeal.

But in the opinion of Sky Sports’ F1 leading commentator David Croft, Mercedes will bite the bullet and finally accept defeat because of three crucial factors.

“It sounds like Mercedes will probably back off from a further appeal,” he told Sky F1, “they don’t want to look like bad losers.

“They have a championship to celebrate, they are Constructors’ Champions for a record-breaking eighth consecutive time.

“They don’t to drag this on and damage the reputation of the sport.

“They just want to give the man they think should be champion the best chance of being champion.

“They felt robbed by what happened. To put it in simple context, if it was to go to the FIA Court of Appeal, Mercedes would have to overturn the result of the stewards, the result of the race and the result of the championship.

“That is a pretty big ask. I can’t see it happening and I don’t think there is a precedent for three big events like that to be overturned and I don’t think Mercedes will continue on with this appeal.”

Mercedes have not posted on their social channels since confirming their desire to appeal the result.

While there was widespread disappointment with the final outcome in Abu Dhabi, Mercedes did take home the Constructors’ Championship.

They managed to pip bitter rivals, Red Bull, by 28 points, a feat that is of huge financial value to the team.