F1 stewards deny Mercedes’ right of review request

Verstappen was not punished when he ran wide and forced both drivers off track when Hamilton tried to overtake the Red Bull around the outside of Turn 4 on lap 48 of last Sunday’s grand prix at Interlagos. 

The incident was noted but not investigated at the time but the emergence of new on-board footage from Verstappen’s car prompted Mercedes to lodge a formal right of review request.

Following a lengthy hearing on Thursday in Qatar that was attended by Mercedes and Red Bull representatives, a delayed verdict was finally provided on Friday. 

While the stewards acknowledged that the front-facing camera on Verstappen’s car met the criteria for new evidence and was relevant, they did not agree the new video footage was signifcant to revisit the case. 

The denial means the matter will not go any further and Verstappen will keep his second-place finish in Brazil. 

Speaking during the FIA press conference before the decision was announced, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said the team did not expect “to gain anything from the right of review”, adding it was “more about the principle and the philosophy”. 

When informed about the outcome of the stewards’ decision after it dropped, Wolff responded: "Completely expected. I think we wanted to trigger discussion around it, that objective is achieved. We didn't really think it would go any further.”

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it was “obviously the right decision” to avoid opening “Pandora’s box”.