MAX VERSTAPPEN will remain the F1 champion thanks to Mercedes dropping their appeal against the Dutchman's Sunday's title-deciding Formula One grand prix win in Abu Dhabi.
Hamilton's team had "Constructive dialogue" with the FIA, the governing body and any challenge to the win has been dropped.
Mercedes said in a statement:
"The Mercedes-AMG Petronas team will actively work with this commission to build a better Formula 1 - for every team and every fan who loves this sport as much as we do.
"We will hold the FIA accountable for this process and we hereby withdraw our appeal."
We appealed in the interest of sporting fairness, and we have since been in a constructive dialogue with the FIA and Formula 1 to create clarity for the future, so that all competitors know the rules under which they are racing, and how they will be enforced. pic.twitter.com/SCdNuFPwIb
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) December 16, 2021
The deployment of a late safety car saw Verstappen of Red Bull overtake his Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton on the final lap in Abu Dhabi
Hamilton led for 47 laps, but thanks to a crash by Nicholas Latifi of Williams, the whole dynamic of the race at Yas Marina changed. Micheal Masi, the Formula One Race Director came under fire for allowing the two drivers to face a straight shootout instead of letting the lapped cars proceed.
Two appeals were made by Mercedes, but they were waved away by the FIA. They then lodged an intention to appeal against that decision, which they were required to trigger by Thursday evening.
Mercedes added in the statement:
"We appealed in the interest of sporting fairness, and we have since been in a constructive dialogue with the FIA and Formula One to create clarity for the future, so that all competitors know the rules under which they are racing, and how they will be enforced.
"Thus, we welcome the decision by the FIA to install a commission to thoroughly analyze what happened in Abu Dhabi and to improve the robustness of the rules, governance and decision-making in Formula One.
"We also welcome that they have invited the teams and drivers to take part."
Photo by Irwen Song ATPImages/Getty Images)