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Is this moment Max Verstappen’s F1 world title win could get OVERTURNED after overtaking Lewis Hamilton with safety car?

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MERCEDES launched a protest to F1 race stewards after Max Verstappen seemed to pass Lewis Hamilton BEFORE the safety car had left the track.

Pictures from the season finale at Yas Marina show Verstappen overtaking Hamilton BEFORE the safety car had officially left, although Mercedes have been unsuccessful in their protest against it.

Verstappen overtaking HamiltonCredit: Sky Sports
Mercedes have lodged a protest against the resultCredit: Sky Sports
The pictures show Verstappen in front of the Brit, with the safety car yet to officially finishCredit: Sky Sports

From an onboard camera on the Dutchman’s car there is clear track in front of him, with Hamilton’s car just about visible to the left of screen.

So the pictures seem to show Verstappen actually pulling ahead of Hamilton before technically being allowed to do so.

The shots come prior to the safety car officially coming to an end.

But a statement from race stewards read: “Although (VER) did, for a very short period of time, move slightly in front of (HAM), when both were accelerating and braking, moved back behind and not in front when safety car period ended.”

Mercedes launched protests on two counts after the incident, with the saga looking like it could rumble on long into the night.

They are ‘relating to alleged breaches of Articles 48.8 and 48.12 of the FIA Sporting Regulations’ and involve the apparent overtaking by Vertsappen and the way some lapped cars were allowed to pass Hamilton and others weren’t before the race restarted.

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Race stewards could have dramatically OVERTURN the result if they find Verstappen to have breached any rules while overtaking.

But after the protest on the overtake was rejected, the appeal on cars passing Hamilton has also been thrown out by stewards.

It means Verstappen has been confirmed as world champion.

Hamilton had seemed destined to secure a record eighth world title until a late safety car allowed Verstappen to overtake the Brit on the last lap of the race.

He was leading in Abu Dhabi by more than ten seconds before the safety car was called on lap 54 when Nicholas Latifi crashed into the barriers.

That allowed Verstappen to hone in on Hamilton, before using his fresher tyres to edge in front of the seven-time world champ right at the death.

He was able to close the gap after stewards decided to allow lapped cars to pass Hamilton, leaving the Dutchman with clear track in front of him.

It came after stewards had initially indicated lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen would stay in their formation.

Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk

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