Mercedes requests review of Verstappen-Hamilton Brazil incident

While battling for the race lead at Interlagos, Verstappen was forced to defend aggressively from Hamilton into Turn 4.

The Dutchman appeared to run Hamilton off the track, with both cars taking to the run-off area, allowing Verstappen to remain in the lead of the race.

The incident was noted by the stewards but race director Michael Masi didn’t feel it warranted a full investigation and thus it wasn’t looked at.

Hamilton overtook Verstappen several laps later to take his sixth victory of the season.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff described the stewards’ failure to not give Verstappen a penalty as “laughable”. 

After the race, Masi revealed that the stewards did not have access to the forward-facing camera on Verstappen’s car when reviewing the incident. 

It wasn’t until Tuesday morning that the full footage was released by F1 on its various digital platforms. 

As a result, Mercedes has requested a right of review on the grounds of new evidence now being available.

Mercedes wrote a short statement on social media: “The Mercedes-AMG Petronas team confirmed 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 between Car 44 and Car 33 on lap 48 of the 2021 Brazilian Grand Prix, on the basis of new evidence unavailable to the Stewards at the time of their decision.”

Finally, the Verstappen onboard.#F1pic.twitter.com/HWFPQcIiYx

— CRASH.NET/F1 (@CRASH_NET_F1) November 16, 2021

F1 heads to Qatar this weekend for the first time with just 14 points separating Verstappen and Hamilton in the drivers’ championship.

Mercedes has an 11-point lead over Red Bull with three rounds remaining.