One protest rejected. One more likely inbound. Two team principals three feet apart but separated by a chasm. Barbs flying. Welcome back to the most fractious world championship fight in recent memory.
First thing, the news that was left hanging the night before: would Max Verstappen be penalised for driving as hard as teak in his squabble with Lewis Hamilton for the lead in Brazil a week ago?
The stewards, acting so arthritically they were in danger of giving VAR a good name, reached the decision on the sixth day, not to reopen the matter. In fairness, their rationale was clear and correct.
Red Bull have voiced suspicions about Lewis Hamiliton's rear wing amid fractious title fight
Max Verstappen was fined £43,000 for touching Hamilton's rear wing at Brazilian Grand Prix
Red Bull boss Christian Horner is trying to seek answers over Mercedes' new found speed
They decided that on-board footage provided by Mercedes met three of the four necessary criteria: it was new; unavailable at the time; relevant; but not ‘significant’. Case dismissed, the fear of Pandora’s Box being opened averted.
So going into the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, Hamilton trails the 24-year-old Red Bull man by 14 points.
News of the verdict arrived as Mercedes’ Toto Wolff and Red Bull’s Christian Horner were going wheel-to-wheel in the press conference, where Horner stated that his suspicions over Hamilton’s car could lead the team to protest.
In layman’s terms, Horner is complaining of scuff marks on the end plates allegedly caused by an imperceptible flex of the wing under load, gifting the defending champion some of the extra pace that powered him to his extraordinary victory in Sao Paulo.
Max Verstappen (left) has survived a Mercedes appeal for a review in regards to his defensive driving with Lewis Hamilton (right) at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last Sunday
‘Would I protest?’ said Horner. ‘Yeah, absolutely, if I believe the car is not in compliance. Mercedes’ straight-line speeds
