REVEALED: The Amounts F1 Charged Mercedes for Their Official Protests in Abu Dhabi

There’s a saying that goes, “Be careful what you wish for.”; something which has turned out to be true for Formula 1 fans. This is because everyone wanted a close and dramatic season in 2021, which we got. But it seems, despite the season coming to an end, the drama is staying, with Mercedes not ready to let go of the events in Abu Dhabi.

Max Verstappen won the drivers’ championship ahead of Lewis Hamilton under extremely controversial circumstances. And Mercedes immediately headed to the stewards and race control to protest surrounding Article 48.12 and Article 48.8. However, both these appeals were dismissed.

This leaves us with a question – Does protesting or lodging appeals with stewards cost any money?

The answer is yes.

F1 expert Sam Collins described that a protest costs €2000, and an appeal costs €6000. As things stand right now, Mercedes are €4000 short in bank balance courtesy of their two protests. And, soon, they could be down a further €6000 as they might file an appeal.

Although, it has to be mentioned that Toto Wolff won’t mind a few thousand Euros in the scheme of things.

What’s next for Mercedes?

Since both of Mercedes’ protests were rejected, Max Verstappen was effectively crowned as the world champion. But that could change in the coming days or weeks or even months.

Because last night, after the stewards’ decision, the Silver Arrows expressed their intentions to file an official appeal to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal. And now, they have a 96 hour time period in which they can decide whether to appeal or not.

The statement from Mercedes says, “We have lodged our intention to appeal the decision of the Stewards under Article 15 of the Sporting Code and Article 10 of the Judicial and Disciplinary Rules.”

Although nothing has been confirmed yet, there’s a solid chance Mercedes will take matters further.

The annual awards gala will take place on Thursday this week, and for now, Max Verstappen will lift the championship trophy.

Also Read: “The Hamiltons Were Humble in Defeat” – Lewis Hamilton’s Brother Slams Abu Dhabi ‘Disgrace’