"When you stand here and they tell you, you are the world champion, it is incredible. "My goal when I was little was of course to become a Formula 1 driver and you hope for wins," Verstappen said. His father Jos, a former F1 driver, embraced his son when he returned to the paddock, while the young star tried to contain his emotion. In a year where many incidents did not go the Dutchman's way, he took full advantage of the late safety car to win the title. While Mercedes were considering whether to appeal the race result, Red Bull was celebrating Verstappen's first drivers' title and the first title for the team since 2013. I cannot believe what we’ve just seen." Verstappen's joy spills out in emotional scenes "Max is an absolutely fantastic driver who has had an incredible season and I have nothing but huge respect for him, but what just happened is absolutely unacceptable. The decision caused a wave of outrage across the F1, with incoming Mercedes driver George Russell sharing his displeasure on Twitter. Ultimately, that protest was also dismissed, however Mercedes has announced their intent to appeal, which could see the argument stretched out for months. Mercedes lodged the protest within the 30-minute time frame from the end of the grand prix. Only the cars between Verstappen and Hamilton were given that instruction, while lapped cars behind Verstappen were not instructed to pass. The regulation says the clerk of the course, in this case the race director, is allowed to instruct all lapped cars to pass and join the back of the queue. Accordingly, the protest is dismissed."Īrticle 48.12 relates to lapped cars passing the safety car to rejoin the back of the queue. "It was not in front when the safety car period ended (i.e. "Although Car 33 did at one stage, for a very short period of time, move slightly in front of Car 44, at a time when both cars where accelerating and braking, it moved back behind Car 44," stewards concluded. Television footage showed Verstappen may have moved ahead of Hamilton by mere centimetres, essentially overtaking the Mercedes driver. Mercedes lodged two protests under articles 48.8 and 48.12 of the sporting regulations.Īrticle 48.8 says no driver is allowed to overtake another under the safety car, except for a few exceptions.īefore the green flag was waved for the final lap, Verstappen pulled alongside Hamilton trying to anticipate when he would speed off to start the final lap. Verstappen crossed the line first to win the drivers' championship.īut while Red Bull were celebrating, the Mercedes garage was going through the rule book. Wolff continued his argument with Masi after the race, saying the race result should be how the cars crossed the line for the start of the final lap, essentially arguing the final lap should not have happened. That is so not right," Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said over the radio to Masi.
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