FIA confirm no Red Bull appeal of Hamilton decisions

Jamie Woodhouse
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, talks, Max Verstappen, Red Bull, head down. Saudi Arabia, December 2021.

Lewis Hamilton talks while Max Verstapen has his head down in a press conference in Saudi Arabia. December 2021.

Red Bull have not submitted an appeal against the stewards’ decisions over Lewis Hamilton in Saudi Arabia, the FIA have confirmed.

It was an eventful final practice session for Hamilton at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, a venue where the fast, flowing corners and walls were creating limited visibility and traffic problems.

Hamilton may have expected to be the one suffering from traffic ahead but in FP3, he actually found himself being the one causing the obstruction.

Firstly, Pierre Gasly encountered the slow-moving Hamilton at Turn 1. Unsure which way to go to clear a path for Gasly, Hamilton ended up taking himself and the AlphaTauri driver into the run-off area.

Later in the lap, Hamilton found himself cruising on the racing line when Nikita Mazepin approached around the blind bend at Turn 8, which thanks to some sharp avoiding action from Mazepin did not end in a major shunt.

The stewards took a look at the Hamilton-Mazepin incident, while the World Champion was also investigated for allegedly failing to slow down under double waved yellow flags.

Ultimately they decided to take no further action over the yellow flags incident, while for the Mazepin block Hamilton received his second reprimand of the season, with his Mercedes team receiving a 25,000 euros fine.

That decision caught the attention of Mercedes’ title rivals Red Bull, who at the previous round in Qatar saw their driver and title challenger Max Verstappen hit with a five-place grid penalty for not respecting double waved yellows.

During an interview team boss Christian Horner mentioned the perceived inconsistency between the decisions, hinting at a possible appeal, while Red Bull’s driver programme boss Helmut Marko went further by saying Red Bull were “following it up”.

However, Autosport report Red Bull had not lodged their appeal before the deadline of 21:32 local time, as confirmed by the FIA.

Red Bull then also clarified themselves they had decided not to submit an appeal, according to the report.

 

Hamilton went on to claim pole position for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, which means he is now clear to lead the grid away on Sunday.

Verstappen, meanwhile, starts P3, as long as his gearbox is okay having crashed out on his final Q3 lap which had been looking comfortably good enough for pole.