Verstappen clinched his first F1 world title in a dramatic ending to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, overtaking championship rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to win the race.
The safety car had been used by Nicholas Latifi after an accident, but race director Michael Masi called for the race to continue with one lap remaining.
This came after he initially said that lapped cars were not allowed to overtake only to then let Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel pass.
A number of other lapped cars did not receive the same call, however, prompting Mercedes to file a protest over a possible violation of Article 48.12 of the Sports Regulations.
Mercedes filed a second protest under Article 48.8 of the regulations, stating that drivers cannot overtake the car in front under the safety car. Verstappen appeared to be walking side by side with Hamilton at Turn 12 before the restart.
When asked by Motorsport.com what he thought of the protest from Mercedes, Verstappen exhaled and replied: “There is not much to say about that.
“I think it sums up this season a bit too.”
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1st place, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 2nd place, congratulate each other after the race in Parc Ferme
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
In a short comment from Red Bull, team principal Christian Horner said: “We are disappointed that there was a protest, but we trust the FIA.”
The drivers and representatives of both teams will meet with the FIA commissioners tonight after Mercedes protested within the 30-minute window in accordance with the rules.
Explaining his approach to the restart and final lap on Hamilton, Verstappen said he was trying “to respond to what he does” and would “of course try not to be too far away”.
“I could see that he was having a lot of trouble warming up the hard tires and I had the grip so I could stay relatively close,” said Verstappen.
“And of course you could clearly see on the soft tires on the first lap that I had more grip. But then after turn 5 you have two very long straights on which you have the chance to come back.
“It was all pretty close between us.”
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