Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes are angry at a win they felt had been unfairly snatched away and which remains under debate with Mercedes intending to appeal the stewards’ decision and the option of taking their case to the court of arbitration for sport. Horner had requested the FIA race director, Michael Masi, act to allow the lapped cars between Verstappen and Hamilton to unlap themselves leaving the title protagonists closed up for the crucial final lap. “It’s obviously a little bit desperate,” he said of the Mercedes protests. Hamilton’s only comments were those made in the moments immediately after climbing from his car and before the protests were made. “We gave it everything, we gave it absolutely everything, we never gave up, and that’s the most important thing.” Verstappen acknowledged that without the final safety car he would have been unable to catch Hamilton but was unequivocal in his belief the stewards had made the right decision to allow the final lap of racing. “Everything was clear, so why would you run another lap behind a safety car?” he said.

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